India Art Festival set to begin today; 510 artists to contribute

The second edition of the India Art Festival, which starts on Wednesday, will showcase art-works by around 510 artists in an attempt to promote art as a platform for young, emerging artists.

The second edition of the India Art Festival, which starts on Wednesday, will showcase art-works by around 510 artists in an attempt to promote art as a platform for young, emerging artists.

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This year, the five-day festival will be held at the 7,000-sq-metre MMRDA Grounds at Bandra-Kurla Complex, a step up from the 2,000-sq-ft venue of Nehru Centre, Worli, in 2011.

The artworks on display have been selected from around 40 galleries across Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. A particular piece has been selected from a London museum. The
festival will also represent the work of 310 individual artists from Mumbai, Delhi, Manipur and Assam.

“The aim of this event is to promote art and help emerging artists reach out to new audiences,” said Rajendra, director.

The event will help many companies explore a new client base, which is why gallerist Davinia Monterio from London’s Contemporary Art Direct gallery has come to Mumbai.“Ours is a six-month-old gallery and we want to enter the Indian art market now,” he said.

Also on offer is a two-day series of free panel discussions, convened by cultural theorist and curator Ranjit Hoskote on Thursday and Friday. The discussions will cover topics such as studio practices and the growth and development of museums.

Panellists will include artists Atul Dodiya, Baiju Parthan and Sudhir Patwardhan and museum directors Sabyasachi Mukherji, Tasneem Mehta and Rajeev Lochan.