IIM-A will host exhibition to establish artists

CIIE,the incubating wing of IIM-A,has been providing support to start-ups dealing with renewable energy,robotics and web-based application providers among others.

Starting Friday,CIIE will be supporting artists as well — helping them price their works,provide networking and give them the IIM-A tag.

“Sometimes,artists price their works too high or too low,and have problems locating potential clients. So,like we do for start-ups,we’ll start incubating artists and host exhibitions for them here on the campus,” said Pranay Gupta,Joint-CEO of CIIE.

The first artist to be hosted is Lira Priyadarsani,from the batch of 1993,who used to be,as she puts it,“probably the only student to sit alone in some corner and sketch the IIM-A campus and the people there”.

Lira’s sketches travelled with her as she moved around the world as part of her marketing career,and when she came back recently to her alma mater that she began converting them into oil-on-canvases.

“Being an IIM-A alumnus who painted the IIM-A campus probably made me the most appropriate candidate to launch the programme,” says Lira.

The 40-odd sketches and the 13-or-so canvases will be up for sale as the exhibition commences. Besides,some of Lira’s works will also be engraved on mugs and sold at the exhibition,to be titled “Life and Times in IIM Ahmedabad.”

After the debut exhibition,CIIE will host and exhibit other artists as well,who are not necessarily from IIM,and don’t’ paint or sketch IIM.

As for the premier B-school,its ability to sell art as well as its graduates could mean a good start. “Lira has already sold three of her paintings,and the exhibition hasn’t even opened yet,” Gupta said.