‘Art is not supposed to repeat what you already know. It is
supposed to ask questions,’ writes Sarah Thornton in her
bestselling book, ‘Seven Days in the Art World’. That is
exactly what makes India Art Fair exciting. There is simply no
room for repetitions here and questions – the intellectual, the
emotional, the theoretical, the experiential, and the rhetorical
- abound. And we, at Arts Illustrated, have tried to live up to
that expectation by putting together an exclusive issue based
on India Art Fair (IAF).
Neha Kirpal, the architect of IAF, writes about her journey
from the time she first conceived the idea in London as a
student to how IAF’s vision is becoming more and more
inclusive. For the eighth edition, with Zain Masud as
international director of the fair, IAF is set to position itself
as a vibrant platform for not just Indian contemporary art
but for South Asian contemporary art as well. ‘When we first
launched India Art Fair, the vision for the fair was always
to make art more accessible and less intimidating to a wider
pool of people,’ writes Neha. It is something that resonates
with our philosophy, too, of creating a product that speaks to
people from different walks of life.
So, what sets this issue apart? My first pick would be our
Main Feature, where, for the first time, we have paired artists
from different generations to talk about their art practice
and about each others’ works. To say this was an ambitious
idea is an understatement, as we soon discovered. But slowly,
through several attempts and conversations, we managed to
reach out to all of them. Once the initial shell of inhibition
was set aside, it was a breeze and a pleasure, not just for us
but for the artists too, as they probably never had such a
specifically designed opportunity before. The warmth that
came through, the genuine pride and admiration, and the
effortless way in which their own processes were shared, truly
made the spirit of the art community shine high and bright.
After all, they are sharing the same space at the NSIC grounds
near the verdant but ironically named Okhla Industrial Area
in New Delhi. To further understand the mechanics of an art
fair, we invited an artist, a curator, a critic, a historian and a
gallerist to share their perspectives on this phenomenon. We
also spoke to avid collectors Kiran Nadar and Jai Danani and
worked on a piece that profiles Indian art in the international
market.That doesn’t mean we abandoned our regular features. In our
cinema section, we look at Shai Heredia’s selection for the
IAF Film Programme featuring cutting-edge film and video
art from India. Our poetry section looks at poets who penned
innumerable and unforgettable verses about the city of Delhi,
the enviable host of IAF. The essay on heritage looks at how
Delhi made the transition from being the political capital of
India to the art capital of India. And our fiction column Short
Shorts, weaves powerful stories based on the artworks by
Kartik Sood that is set to debut at the IAF. There was a lot we
learnt from this issue, and a lot of time was spent on bringing
out just the right amount of perfection to each of our stories,
along with some fresh designs on our pages.We hope this issue helps you navigate this hugely inspiring
and invigorating space of IAF and what it means to the world
of Indian contemporary art.Niharika Peri
[email protected]
Editor's Note