HT Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai: The importance of writing right about art

Held on Friday at the David Sassoon Gardens as part of the HDFC Home Loans literature section, the audience was made up of a mix of art lovers and those who wanted to learn more.

Art can be understood in many ways and this year’s Sharada Dwivedi Commemorative Lecture at the HT Kala Ghoda Arts Festival called upon art historian Annapurna Garimella to discuss the importance of writing right when it comes to art and architecture.

Art historian Annapurna Garimella speaks at the Sharada Dwivedi memorial lecture on Friday. (Hindustan Times)

Held on Friday at the David Sassoon Gardens as part of the HDFC Home Loans literature section, the audience was made up of a mix of art lovers and those who wanted to learn more.

“In recent times, writing about art in our community has become a vexed issue. There’s barely any deep emphasis on art history and what we see is almost one-dimensional,” Garimella said. “Interpretation of art allows you to enter the art from a different era and understand the artist. What guides you in this journey are the facts and research.”

Art enthusiast Mahesh Duggal, 62, was hanging on to every word. “In this internet era, it’s so easy to be fed the wrong information. Art students need to be taught in school the importance of writing ethically and responsibly, because through their writing, they are representing history,” said the businessman from Colaba.

“Writing about art is done very poorly in our community also because our universities don’t emphasise this,” Garimella said. “It’s very important for every writer to know that they need to give space and thought to the other side of the art form, and no get stuck in a one-dimensional framework.”

Sanchi Shivshankar, 26, was eager to get some names of art critics and books on art and architecture from Garimella after the talk. “It’ll be nice to know more about this topic as there’s art in abundance on our country,” she said.