The India Art Fair –– the grandest celebration of art in the country besides the ongoing Kochi Biennale –– has at times earned the wrath of critics, at times pleased the art lovers and then at times managed to amuse the public. In its seventh year, it has now become a permanent fixture in our cultural calendar.
Eighty five exhibiting galleries in a total of 90 booths, artistic projects, speakers’ forum boasting speakers like Adam Szymczyk, Artistic Director of Documenta, Venu Vasudevan, Director General of the National Museum, Sheikha Hoor al Qasimi, director of the Sharjah Biennale among others, introduction of artistic director (Girish Shahane), and a thrust on the South Asian art scene are some of the highlights of the upcoming fair.
In this interview, Neha Kirpal, the brain behind the whole idea of the India Art Fair — that was known as India Art Summit in its initial years — zooms on in the finer details of the event.
Focus on South Asia
There is a re-invention of the art fair in terms of its positioning. In emerging markets around the world, the trend is to focus on the domestic market as well as the region. Our focus is South Asia so we have looked at Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Pakistan is quite a presence with a panel dedicated to it. The fair probes the relationship between Asian countries, when it comes to art. There is Gallery Art Chowk from Pakistan.
Broader pan-Indian representation
There are galleries from different cities. We have made an attempt to seek out artists from other cities. There are EO (Entrepreneurs Organisation) groups from Indore, Jaipur, Hyderabad. There is representation from Ahmedabad, Pune, Baroda and Chandigarh. We have never had collectors from Jaipur and Chandigarh.
The experiential feel
We are deeply committed to the experiential aspect of the fair. We have 20-30 events taking place in Delhi during the fair. We are taking the experience of Delhi and transforming it into an art experience. There is whole array of food — there is Hungry Monkey, rooftop lounge bar, cigar lounge.
There is a design store being curated by five to six young designers, a courtyard, a bookstore and all this has really transformed the space. So the look of the fair at the NSIC Grounds is going to be different; its feel is going to be different.
Corporate outreach
We have something like a corporate day out at the fair this time, under which these corporates would be buying bulk tickets for their employees. So there are HCL, Google, visiting us. There are YPO (Young Presidents Organisations) groups, EO groups from Indore, Chandigarh and Hyderabad, coming to the fair. Being an EO member means that you run a business of a certain standing.
Forging connections
We are trying to establish linkages between various communities. HCML, a luxury interiors fitting company, is bringing their interior designer clients who are building homes across India. They will be given a specialised tour of the fair. So art is meeting the world of design and architecture.
There is a high profile singles club FLOW, coming from Bangalore. Senior collectors like Feroze Gujral, Lekha Poddar, Radhika Chopra will be walking young collectors around the fair.
(India Art Fair will be held from January 29 to February 1 at NSIC Grounds.)
