Starting on June 30, the city will open doors to a five-day long art extravaganza of sorts. In a bid to offer a platform for budding artistes in Bengaluru, the upcoming art fair heralds the first-ever exhibit featuring the most stellar works of 100 artistes under one roof. We speak to artist Meena Das Narayan, the curator behind the show, and a couple of renowned artistes from the city for more...
“I’ve always believed that art is synonymous to life and its varied shades. The idea behind the initiative is to get the city to indulge in art a little more than usual. The space has been give free of cost to 100 artistes to display their works – be it in the form of sculpture, paintings, installations or photography and the like. It is indeed refreshing to note that a lot of artistes from the country and world over have rendered their interest towards the concept,” remarks Meena.
Speaking about what egged her to curate for the concept, she shares, “As a curator, what I was really looking for in art was variety with finesse. In my personal opinion, some of the best art works have been collated in good taste — encapsulating everything from abstract to fantasy, realism and surrealism. In most shows in Bengaluru, I have noticed that only the top artists get noticed. But there are a million artists waiting to be appreciated, so in a way, we have tried our best to collate the works that deserve their fair share of visibility.”
While the arts and gems fair has attracted aficionados from across the globe, the city’s artistically inclined seem equally excited.
Yusuf Arakkal, a city-based artiste of international repute, opines, “I think it’s a very good initiative by the organisers as they are not charging the artists for space. This is perhaps one of the easiest ways for amateur and promising artistes to showcase their works to the world. And they are promoting promising young artists as well. The fact that India Arts and Gems Fair is not a commercial venture makes it appealing for most artists.”
Adding to how there lies a raging need for a forum that facilitates cultural unison, Shraddha Rathi, a renowned city-based artist, who will be displaying a few of her works reveals, “I believe there’s an ethereal energy associated with a space, where two forms of art are going to meet. As excited as I am to be a part of this, I am eager to see and show my support to budding artistes as well.”
Opining about how the interest and knowledge about art has plummeted over the years, she says, “The art scene in Bengaluru is certainly evolving. Unlike the popular belief that people tend to dismiss it as a city where there are few buyers and more artists, the truth is if you create the right environment for art collectors, the responses can indeed be overwhelming.”
The India Arts and Gems Fair'16 will be held from June 30 to July 4 at The Leela Palace Hotel
