Art in the time of GST

What is our definition of an artist? Is it only someone who passes out of a recognised art school? What about those who are self-taught? Or the hundreds of thousands of folk or tribal artists who work in the unorganised art field? They are artists too, and their work has now entered the white cube lexicon of galleries and art fairs as recognition for their work has increased. A few among them have gained recognition as a result of a system of annual state awards, but most remain and operate under the radar, helped along to an extent by the Crafts Museum, or Dilli Haat, or their equivalents, especially in more robust tourist centres. As for their urban, art school peers, their practice includes the familiar artist-in-a-garret cliché because neither the state nor the private sector have pushed for the promotion of art in the public sphere, and given a lack of museums and other institutions, artists mostly languish in their lifetimes. 

Perhaps it is a coincidence then that I have had a chance to visit a number of interesting exhibitions by young and emerging artists over the last weeks and days. While there is a lot of pressure among even amateur collectors to identify the next generation of artists with potential and longevity, the struggle among these artists to find a gallery, or representation, to get their work across an art viewing public, is far greater. Art, in India, is still absent from the public space and exists outside the mainstream. Artists may present a candid representation of the society we all inhabit, but how often do we read or learn about them barring the occasional controversy that besmirches the entire fraternity as a result of insensitive reportage. 

An artist’s is not an enviable lot. Other than a few minuscule painters or sculptors who break through the ceiling to become part of the charmed inner circle of high society, for most their chosen career is often a struggle that may require them to take an alternate day job. Working such a job and practising as artists by night with few opportunities to build relationships with the larger art fraternity, theirs is a world that is far removed from the glamour and glitz that is made up of a few high-ticket sales. Any potential threat via tax liabilities could destroy budding careers as well as cripple their creativity. But a liberal tax regime could be helpful in establishing not just more robust careers but helping hundreds of thousands of people to Make in India. 

Photo: Reuters

The GST, therefore, is an opportunity to right what has been a historical wrong by eradicating high taxes from the field to give a boost to art and culture. Art is part of the soft power of the nation and has contributed its bit to discourses on India’s vibrancy and diversity around the world. While total eradication might be difficult (though desirable), keeping them in the lowest bracket means that lakhs of artists and artisans would benefit from the ruling. Even though it is ultimately the buyer who absorbs the cess, a higher levy discourages spends, eventually harming the interests of the poorer artist.

Nor can one separate handicrafts from art, or create separate silos for the urban and the rural among the fraternity. Who is to distinguish whether one form of art is superior, or inferior, to another. Or that interfaces between the folk and the formally recognised don’t include both. Instead of creating a caste system within the industry, the government would do well to provide a boost to its entire fraternity. Fingers crossed. 
 

Kishore Singh is a Delhi-based writer and art critic. These views are personal and do not reflect those of the organisation with which he is associated