 "Jaya Asokan, director, India Art Fair")
India Art Fair, one of the country’s most prominent annual art events, will return to New Delhi in February 2024. The post-pandemic 2023 edition of the fair was the largest to date. The 15th edition next year will be even larger in scale and ambition, Jaya Asokan, director, India Art Fair, tells Veenu Sandhu in an emailed interview. Edited excerpts:
Could you provide some insights into how the India Art Fair has evolved in recent years in terms of its scale?
There has been a tremendous increase in the scale – both physically and digitally – in the last five years. We have incrementally achieved this by adding parallel events that run concurrently with the main fair. At the physical level, we have brought within the fold engaging talks, robust workshop programming, performing arts and activities for differently-abled persons. At the 2023 edition, we also launched two new projects – our poster zine titled ‘Fire in the Belly’ featuring eight women artists and Digital Artists in Residence in collaboration with Apple.
At India Art Fair 2023. Courtesy of India Art Fair
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Alongside this, we have been paying equal attention to our website. The pandemic taught us the biggest lesson of working collaboratively and not in isolation. The ‘Notice Board’ on our website is an outcome of the vagaries of the pandemic that pushed us to create an ecosystem for young and emerging artists to keep themselves abreast of residency, grants and other such meaningful opportunities in one place.
Simply put, India Art Fair is now holistically looking at ways in which we can create an ecosystem that is inclusive and supportive of each other. We run parallel events throughout the year and the galleries exhibiting get a mention on our website. This enhances the visibility of the exhibition to a global audience.
What more is in store for the 2024 edition? Also, would it be right to say that India Art Fair has had its biggest editions post the pandemic? If so, what factors prompted this scaling up?
The 2023 edition indeed has been our most ambitious and largest fair to date. Building on its success, we are scaling up further. Without divulging much details, I can share that we have expanded our floor space, you will see many new and emerging galleries and an extended studio space. The much-anticipated BMW space will also be undergoing some changes. The 2024 edition (from February 1 to 4) will be larger in scale and ambition, as we will be spotlighting modernists, including more women artists and supporting more young and emerging artists from India and the world.
At India Art Fair 2023. Courtesy of India Art Fair
India Art Fair attracts a range of galleries and artists. Can you share details on the growth in the number of participants, both domestic and international, and any noteworthy changes in the composition of galleries and artists in recent editions?
There will be a wider representation of international galleries in the forthcoming edition. In the 2023 edition, we witnessed representation from eight international countries, but for the forthcoming edition, we have received an incredible amount of enquiries from galleries and institutions from around the globe. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that finally, we are seeing the pre-pandemic level of participation from international galleries and institutions at the fair.
The footprint of the fair has grown both domestically and internationally, and the cumulative success of the last 15 years has enabled us to create a strong community of institutions, museums and galleries that continue to forge cultural dialogues and partnerships.
Has the presence of galleries focused on contemporary artists increased in recent years?
We have seen that younger galleries are supporting, investing and promoting young and emerging artists. There particularly has been a keen interest in contemporary artists from tier-II and tier-III cities.
Masters will always have a ubiquitous place in the art world, as they carry a historical legacy. Alongside this, many gallerists and institutions are rooting for contemporary artists and at India Art Fair, we always find new ways to engage with them and support them. I personally feel that India Art Fair has to engage with the changing landscape of the art world and keep up to date with digital and technological trends. We are making inroads towards that aim through initiatives like the Digital Artists in Residence.
At India Art Fair 2023. Courtesy of India Art Fair
How has the fair's reputation evolved internationally, and in what way has it contributed to greater recognition of Indian art, particularly post the pandemic? Also, do you feel Indian art and artists are inviting more attention today?
India Art Fair has always been committed to creating a diverse, authentic and community-driven platform that facilitates the meeting of art, artists, and galleries with collectors, institutions, public audiences and patrons. Over 15 years, we have gained the reputation of an institution that has created an ecosystem that is collaborative in nature and partnership-driven. We have built a solid foundation of showcasing the best of South Asian and Indian Art, building relationships and bringing international institutions, museums and galleries to India.
India’s art market is dynamic with strong domestic demand, and with growing passion and interest in collecting beyond the traditional art centres of New Delhi and Mumbai. There has also been expansion across the country, with a growing population.
One of our important learnings from the pandemic was that India Art Fair has developed into a self-sustaining model because of the interest in art from collectors and art patrons within India. Beyond the four-day event, India Art Fair offers a year-round platform in several ways, from its promotion and support of gallery systems through the India Art Fair Parallel to the noticeboard and editorial initiatives, engaging collectors through artist workshops, walkthroughs and collector weekends. All of this, besides participating in pan-Indian events such as Kochi Biennale, Serendipity Art Festival, Delhi Art Week, Delhi Contemporary Art Week, Mumbai Gallery Weekend and Madras Art Weekend. We are happy to see how our efforts have played the role of catalysts in placing the Indian art scene on the global map.
At India Art Fair 2023. Courtesy of India Art Fair
