DIGITAL COPY ON MAGZTERThe Artist and
the Gallerist
Moderated by Negar Azimi,
writer, senior editor, BidounA conversation between Sunitha
Kumar Emmart, Founder,
GallerySKE, and Sudarshan Shetty,
artist and curator of Kochi Biennale
2016 about how they each negotiate
space and inform each other's work.Sunitha Kumar Emmart: The idea of the gallery
simply has been to engage with artists we feel a
connection with, to share what they do with the
world outside their studio. That in itself can be
totally consuming. The centre in the gallery is the
artists and their practices, which are constantly
evolving. We do add artists to our gallery when
we come across something that we feel adds to the
rest of the programme. Following a trend has never
been something we have indulged in. As a gallerist
one is affected when a practice you have conviction
in doesn’t get the recognition or support it needs.Sudarshan Shetty: I started working with a gallery
15 years ago, which was then almost 15 years after
I started working as an artist. See, we have been
practising for so long that by the time the idea
of a gallery emerged, we had already reached a
substantial place in our careers. So yes, it was quite
empowering. When it started, galleries were not
like how they are now. There were no contracts
or as many regulations. I started working with
one gallery, and now I work with four. Given
the fact that I don’t follow a particular way of
working – I keep changing what I do – I would
say that it has been very helpful. In fact, I would
say that working with a gallery is like any other
real human relationship. There are problems
and disagreements, but it is just the way any
relationship works.
This is how it works for me – I don’t know if every
artist has the same relationship. See, a gallerist
was a friend of mine long before she became a
gallerist. She had been watching my work for solong that working with her is a different experience
altogether. Just as it is different working with
galleries abroad. In more ways, since I started
working with galleries so much later that it was
much easier working with them. Back then, we
didn’t have any pressure to conform to any specific
requirements. So, the place we were already in
before we started working with them was very
different. Now a days, artists start working with
galleries right out of college. What I had was
definitely a much different experience.Access and Integration in
the Arts across South Asia
Moderated by Amit Jain
associate vice president–client relations,
Saffron ArtThe emergence of mega cultural
events in South Asia has created cross
connections and collaborations that
enable the region to stand together as
a common voice and yet cultivate its
own national cultural identity. The
session – with Annoushka Hempel,
founder and director, Colombo Art
Biennale; Dr. Dina Bangdel, associate
professor and director, Art History
Programme, Virginia Commonwealth
University, Qatar, Nepal Arts
Council; Osman Waheed, Chairman,
Lahore Biennale Foundation; and
Sabih Ahmed, senior researcher Asia
Art Archive – will investigate the
complexities of working in this region
and how these events find themselves
both as a national and a regional
voice.(^72) / ARTS ILLUSTRATED / FEB 2016 - MAR 2016 / IAF - Delhi Connecting Art