The mall is no longer just about branded items. It’s the new, popular venue for art galleries and exhibitions The trendy FCUK designer store and Hidesign leather accessories hardly seem like the perfect backdrop for Amritsar-based artist Atul Mehra’s acrylic on canvas depicting the different moods of Lord Krishna, but Adishwar Puri is convinced that when shoppers at Select Citywalk view them together during the second All India Art Trade Fair, the contrast will not seem particularly odd. “Artwork in the mall will only make the shopping experience more holistic. Besides, it will create more art enthusiasts,” says Puri as he gears up to erect 45 stalls near Barista in the swish mall on October 24.This isn’t the first time when the mall, so far bereft of an art gallery, will host an exhibition, or when connoisseurs in the capital plan a trip to a mall to view artworks. As innumerable galleries mushroom across the city it isn’t unfamiliar anymore to discuss brushstrokes over a glass of wine in a fine dining restaurant or to stumble upon a canvas during a shopping expedition in the neighbourhood mall. While SH Raza’s bindu and John Tun Sein’s abstract greeted guests who trooped in for the opening show of Passage Art Gallery located above the restaurant Crepes and More in Khan market on Friday evening, Sharon Apparao is looking forward to dressing the walls at DLF Emporio with artwork by Farhan Mujib in an exhibition starting October 17. This comes within a month of her previous exhibition at the same venue that had artworks by N Ramachandran, Atul Dodiya and Alexis Kersey in a curated group show titled ‘The Demonic and the Divine’. “We have always been open to experimenting with unconventional spaces,” says Apparao. “Not every mall makes an appropriate venue but people frequenting Emporio are the kinds who appreciate and understand art.” While Apparao is targeting the high-end circuit at the glitzy new mall at TDI in Rajouri Gardens, Sonia Kathuria, assistant vice president, marketing, is hoping to provide a platform for local craftsmen to display their work. “This is an added service and monetary benefit is not the motive. The regular rental rates are exorbitant, but we only charge craftsmen for basic infrastructure,” says Kathuria. Rajiv Duggal, CEO of Select Citywalk adds, “One need not always exhibit artwork by renowned artists. The aim is to give a flavour of art to the shoppers. We intend to showcase work that is affordable.”However, unlike a gallery where spectators expect artwork, malls do have to put in extra effort to make certain that frames suspended in the passages attract attention. “We choose work that is visually stimulating, but people need to take a moment out to reflect on them,” says Shah. Clearly, casaul shoppers have a dormant interest in art. Dr Akhter Husain recently displayed his canvases at the Select Citywalk atrium in an exhibition titled ‘Pigments and Pictures’. “The sales are encouraging and there were several queries,” he says. Brigadier (retd) Deepak Kapur, general manager of mall operations at Ambience mall, Gurgaon says he prefers to keep art separate from the luxury stores. So at his mall, a 30,000 sq ft hall has been constructed specifically for art exhibitions. “We are still finalising details but there will be shows in this space soon,” says Kapur. Mall rats turn art connoisseurs? That may not be so odd anymore.
