Johny ML, an art historian, writer, curator and artist, is organising a unique art fair in New Delhi that will help artists connect directly with collectors and connoisseurs.
Unlike India’s existing art fairs — The India Art Festival, held in Mumbai, and the India Art Fair in Delhi — artists will not have to pay for space.
Instead, a total of 350 artists have been picked by Johny from among 600 applicants, based on samples of their work that they send in.
Each selected artist will now be allotted a free stall at the Pragati Maidan venue, from September 27 to 30, on condition that 35% of the proceeds of every sale be handed over to the organisers as a commission.
Galleries usually charge a commission of 30% to 35% on works sold at art fairs. The fair is being sponsored by United Art Logistics.
A total of 1,500 works will be displayed at the 8,000-sq-metre venue, which will include a curated section titled Mind the Gap Now, showing works by 60 established artists, including Chintan Upadhyay, KS Radhakrishnan and Diwan Manna. A sculpture park will house 15 sculptures.
Among the selected artists is Tathi Premchand, 42, a digital artist from Mumbai who graduated from Aurangabad’s Government School of Art in 1990 and has spent the past 22 years struggling for platforms to show his work.
{{/usCountry}}Among the selected artists is Tathi Premchand, 42, a digital artist from Mumbai who graduated from Aurangabad’s Government School of Art in 1990 and has spent the past 22 years struggling for platforms to show his work.
{{/usCountry}}He has had three solo shows so far, two in Delhi and one in Mumbai. He also shows his work at group shows about twice a year. But he is not represented by a gallery and is losing hope of ever finding a slot at major galleries such as Jehangir in Mumbai.
“Through the fair, I hope to reach out to collectors in Delhi, one of the largest art markets in India,” says Tathi.
Mumbai-based Prashanth Irlekar, 51, who has been trying to break into the Delhi art scene for five years, has also selected to show at the fair. “This is a great opportunity,” he says.