Arts_Illustrated_-_February-March_2016

DiGiTal coPY oN MaGZTeR

NaTaSHa GINWala, aN iNDePeNDeNT cURaToR, ReseaRcHeR aND wRiTeR

Goes fRoM THe PeRsoNal To THe collecTiVe, TalkiNG aBoUT iDeNTiTY aND

iNclUsiViTY as iNTeGRal PaRTs of GRowTH aND sUsTaiNaBiliTY foR

iNDia aRT faiR

The Curator

T

he modern and
contemporary arts in
Delhi have been fostered
by a range of institutions in the
public and private sphere, from
the governmental, academic and
self-organised domain. Their
inconsistencies or lapses are bridged
over by a vitally diverse artistic
community that plays host and
audience in turn. Having initially
trained at the School of Arts and
Aesthetics at JNU and witnessing
India Art Fair from its inception as
the India Art Summit, I have been
surprised by the constantly shifting
approach of this forum
over the years. Back then, some of
my classmates and I had conducted
specially conceived guided walks for
the second edition. These proved
instructive in learning how the
non-specialised audience groups
engaged with artistic works in this
setting. For instance, it facilitated
elemental dialogues on what it
meant for an event in Pragati
Maidan to commission large-scale
contemporary art installations and
public sculpture within its tented
venue, that were meant as insightful
provocations rather than direct
‘entertainment.’
The collateral events surrounding
the fair by arts organisations in

the city such as Khoj, the National

Gallery of Modern Art, IGNCA,

private initiatives such as Devi Art

Foundation (in previous years),

and more recently the Gujral

Foundation’s 24 Jor Bagh and

Outset Talk series, as well as the

elaborately curated exhibitions

at KNMA (Saket and Noida

venues) have remained crucial

to the art fair’s development as a

platform that seeks to hold larger

significance in the urbane capital.

Extending the cartography of this

durational spread, a South Asian

presence, although unevenly marked

through special projects and gallery

presentations, has also been integral

to activating the regional network

and Delhi’s broader cultural

relations to the subcontinent.

At a discursive level, the colloquia

at India Art Fair have been seminal

towards raising narratives around

the curatorial, scholarly and artistic

concerns of the city, while also

bringing in a range of international

professionals to showcase timely

perspectives from across the cultural

field. India Art Fair’s collaboration

with research-based initiatives such

as the Asia Art Archive have led to

critical presentations that have been

personal highlights, such as Shilpa

Gupta’s solo project ‘That photo we

never got’, for which she worked

closely with the archive’s Sabih

Ahmed for the last edition.

In order to continue its enterprising

growth and sustainability India Art

Fair should continue to intersect

with the versatile and independent

spirit of the art community, in

and beyond Delhi. Its success lies

not simply in catering to evident

demands of collectors and a limited

cluster of gallerists but furthermore

in being counted as a site for

collective inspiration.

Photograph by Mark Blower

IAF - Delhi Connecting Art/ feb 2016 - mAR 2016 / ARTs ILLusTRATeD /^83