Written by: Georgina Maddox
3 min readAug 27, 2011 12:06 AM IST
First published on: Aug 27, 2011 at 12:06 AM IST
As Mumbai announces its own art festival this year,the India Art Fair plans a Mumbai chapter
As art begins to play a pivotal role in our lives,there is a crying need for professional platforms of scale,where art galleries and artists can exhibit their work,and collectors,space designers and connoisseurs can interact with them,” says Rajendra Para,secretary of India Art Festival. The festival is scheduled to take place in November at the Nehru Centre in Worli. In its first year,the annual event will have Saryu Doshi,former secretary of the National Gallery of Modern Art,Mumbai,as a consultant. Independent consultant Anupa Mehta will take care of marketing and VIP relations. “I always say — the more the merrier. We must constantly create excitement about art festivals,otherwise we will not be able to create a bigger buyer base. It’s about getting the positioning right,” says Mehta.
While there’s a buzz in the art circuit that this means competition for the Delhi-based India Art Fair (once known as the India Art Summit),the director of India Art Festival,Neha Kirpal,differs. “We don’t see any competition. The Festival has the participation of over 100 galleries,with an equal split between national and international galleries. Hauser and Wirth and White Cube will be participating in 2012. Moreover,we’ll have venue designers from the Frieze Art Fair,” says Kirpal.
She adds,“One is always supportive of collaborative art efforts,like Art Chennai and the Kochi Murzaris Beinnale. When individual cities have their own festivals,I’d like to see the kind of response they get,” she adds.
The galleries,meanwhile,are watching their steps,before announcing their loyalties. Eight major galleries — including Chatterjee and Lal,Gallery Maskara,Chemould,Lakeeren and Project 88 — are supporting the festival by contributing works for the sculpture section,they are not participating in the venture. “It’s a new initiative and can only do good,not harm. However,people should tread with caution while setting up modules,” says Abhay Maskara of Gallery Maskara,pointing out that the venue is a bit uninspiring.
Meanwhile,India Art Fair also plans to launch a Mumbai chapter in 2013. “The country’s art market is not big enough for two art fairs,so we intend to alternate between Mumbai and Delhi,” says Kirpal.
There is more news from the art fair circuit. The Triennial at Delhi has also been postponed from December 2011 to next year. Ashok Vajpai,director of the Lalit Kala Akademi that organises the festival,says its administration “is not prepared”.
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