Arts_Illustrated_-_February-March_2016

DIGITAL COPY ON MAGZTER

C

oincidences are, often, carefully

designed moments of serendipity

masquerading as old friends. There is

an instant recognition, a familiarity that feels

as sure as birth and as inevitable as death, and

a quiet feeling of trust in how that moment

is made and how it changes us. Artists

experience this all the time, thriving on its

paradox of uncertainty for what it brings and

what it takes in return. That symbiosis is often

celebrated as magic.

Last year, when India Art Fair (IAF)

announced its appointment of Zain Masud

as the international art director of IAF 2016,

serendipity stood tall and straight under the

arc light, suffused with the promise of new

beginnings.

The fact that this was a first in IAF’s eight-year

history would have been enough to keep the

arc lights on, but when you take that with

Zain’s hugely multicultural background,

someone’s got to keep a pack of extra batteries

on standby. Born to a Saudi Arabian mother

and a Pakistani father, Zain graduated from

Oxford University, before working in galleries

in Paris and Dubai, where she was the

By Praveena Shivram

iNTeRNaTioNal aRT DiRecToR of iNDia aRT faiR 2016,

ZaiN MasUD, sHaRes HeR Views oN wHaT seTs THe iaf

aPaRT aND wHY coNTeMPoRaRY aRT is iNTeGRal To a

HealTHY socieTY

World for New Beginning,

Asha Dangol, Nepal Art Council,

Acrylic on Canvas

91cm x 167cm, 2015,

Image Courtesy of Nepal Art

Council, Asha Dangol,

India Art Fair 2016

q&a

IAF - Delhi Connecting Art/ FEB 2016 - MAR 2016 / ARTS ILLUSTRATED /^35