DIGITAL COPY ON MAGZTERbetter support and reflect our cultural landscape
and nurture new audiences. I’m really interested
in drawing new disciplines into the fair, which
is also reflective of a traditional, pre-colonial
approach to the arts in the subcontinent and
just a really interesting, enriching, refreshing
prospect for both seasoned fair goers and
audiences who don’t have as much access to the
creative industries.
Long term, I envisage the fair as an
interdisciplinary platform reflecting the best of
creativity in the region and extending India’s
relationships, historic and contemporary, with
the rest of the world.
We’ve taken our first steps towards this, initiating
a programme called ‘Platform’ that positions
key art spaces and collectives that might never
otherwise find their place at an art fair and
among its audiences. We are also inaugurating
the fair’s first film programme, curated by Shai
Heredia and hosting fascinating projects that
investigate the politics of food, brought by
Delfina Foundation, as part of ‘Institutional’,
a new programme that hosts the programmes
of leading museums and foundations, and
an artist collective called ‘Cooking Sections’;
natural steps for a country like India so defined
by these forms of creativity.
These efforts also extend to the fair’s acclaimed
‘Speakers' Forum’, which not only addresses
access and integration across South Asia but also
the convergence of disciplines, art and literature,
performance, film, and so on. And, of course,
our galleries. We have some really exciting new
international entrants from new geographies,
as well as local exhibitors bringing really strong
content.
Why do you think there is a rise in the number
of art fairs around the world today?
And, more importantly, what do you think,
therefore, an art fair like IAF needs to stand
apart?
The traditional art capitals of the world cannot
sustain the art market alone anymore and the
axis of the art world is shifting. The number of
galleries in any given capital is greater than
ever and they have to go further afield and
qualify in certain arenas to define their relevance
and compete for their share of the market. We,
as the audience and consumers, have a global
appetite and want the experience and access that
a great art fair can provide, a synopsis of the
best art being produced across the globe at our
fingertips. To stand apart, India needs to reflect
its old country-new nation reality and everything
that comes with that.Do you think there exists a parameter today
to judge what is ‘good art’? Or, actually, how
would you define it?
I don’t think we should have rigid ideas about
what forms 'good art' should take. And I
don't think 10 people in a room talking
about art could agree about whether something
was good or bad art. It’s all subjective. But,
ultimately, it should stand some ground. I think
about what the work is trying to do, if it is
communicating anything important to me and if
it is any different to anything I’ve seen before.
In India, we are surrounded by art – the
traditional folk art forms, traditional
paintings, art on trucks and autos, and now on
our walls too.Do you think, then, that contemporary art in
India sort of takes a backseat when it comes to
the layman’s perspective? Or that, because it is
the least understood of all the art forms we are
surrounded with, is it losing out on patronage?
I think a lot of Indian contemporary art actually
reflects how integral those traditional genres
are to the fabric of the life here and references
it in one way and another. It is not unusual for
contemporary art to be a challenge, and not
the first cause for patronage in young nations
with many other pressing needs. I do think,
however, that contemporary art is also integral
to a healthy society and we need to work on the
revival of that shared understandingIAF - Delhi Connecting Art/ FEB 2016 - MAR 2016 / ARTS ILLUSTRATED /^39