New Beginnings

She isn’t alone in singing its praises. Rishiraj Sethi,director,Aura Art Development,Mumbai,believes that the festival’s opening edition was conducted well. His gallery was one of the many participants on the ground floor. Three important points to consider when planning and assessing a festival,he believes,are the infrastructure,the promotion and the response,and the festival scored high on two. “The infrastructure was very smooth,right from the basics like the stalls,to the lighting and everything else,” says Sethi. Although he feels the promotion could have been stronger,the response,he says,was good. “The reality is that such an event took place in Mumbai after quite a while,so it generated curiosity. There were many new collectors and that’s good from a business point of view,” he says.

As for the previously unexplored concept of having a designated space to showcase the works of artists not represented by galleries,Dahanukar believes it was a successful move. “It was appreciated by a number of people because they got to see works by upcoming artists,” she says. The artists themselves are grateful. “This is the first time I have displayed my art at a festival and I’m very happy with the response,” says Kolkata-born artist Paramesh Paul. The two paintings that this individual exhibitor brought to the second floor of Nehru Centre at the beginning of the exhibition were soon booked by buyers,who also showed interest in the four he put on display thereafter.