In 2022, a tipping point for Indian and South Asian art
The 2022 edition of the India Art Fair opened the doors to a brand new art world. Old values were shaken up to reveal a present and future shaped by radical new ways of collaboration and a mandate for representation and inclusion. After two challenging years of the pandemic, the fair returned with enthusiasm, with everyone from artists, galleries, institutions, students, first-time-collectors, and patrons taking part in the celebration. It was a huge commercial success but was also a space for collective healing for many of us.
All through the exhibition halls, the diversity of voices from South Asia resounded loud and clear. From the interior corners of India, spanning Santiniketan in West Bengal to Vadodara in Gujarat to international cities such as Sydney, Brasilia, New
York, and London, artists and artworks made their way to New Delhi. It was as if South Asia, including its rich diaspora, had converged for their shared love for art, yet each stood out with their unique perspectives, stories, and styles.
Many galleries supported artists through various collaborative online initiatives such as South-south, Intouch, and TAP India. These are now beginning to translate into sustainable models offline too. Besides the incredible work by grassroots institutions in supporting the arts ecosystem through grants, residencies, and so on, this spirit of collaboration among galleries and peer-to-peer support initiatives among artists have been vital to the Indian art market.
In tandem, the interest in Indian and South Asian art has taken off internationally, with more and more exhibitions of South Asian contemporary art making waves in global art capitals. A new show, Conversations of Tomorrow, of four Indian galleries — Vadehra Art Gallery, Experimenter, Chemould Prescott Road, and Jhaveri Contemporary — opened in London this month, a first-of-its-kind format, alliance, and model to showcase Indian art internationally.
More than ever before, bold young artists are leading the way, reframing our understanding of art and addressing questions of gender and sexuality, caste, class, mental health, the climate crisis, and sustainability in their work with great thoughtfulness, intensity, and rigour. We were able to see this at the fair. Be it Kumar Misal’s woodcuts on handmade paper, reflecting on the farmers’ struggles, Madhukar Mucharla’s large portrait of BR Ambedkar using leather scraps, Sangita Jogi’s imagination of womanhood, family and village life in pen and ink drawings or Divya Singh’s large and introspective paintings, reflecting her various states of mind during the lockdowns, each artist provoked new thought and imagined new futures.
We also saw that the appetite and market for art are at an all-time peak. The market continued to expand through the pandemic, and the 2022 edition of the fair broke all records with galleries selling works across price points, starting from ₹10,000 for artist prints and going up to crores for modern masterpieces. Most galleries sold out on the first of four days at the fair and exhibited new works in their booths for the subsequent days — a sign of a thriving and vibrant art scene.
And what’s more, there is an ever-growing base of collectors visiting from across the region, be it private patrons, interior designers or architect groups, identifying large paintings and sculptural installations for public spaces, hotels, and corporate offices. Our Young Collectors Programme, too, was a major hit, with a large contingent of first-time art buyers starting their collections at the fair and participating in our curated programme of special walkthroughs and social events.
The audiences consuming art are growing increasingly vast and varied, each realising the importance of art not just as a product, but as entertainment and therapy. As a result, art lovers flocked to the fair in large numbers. From the biggest collectors and patrons such as Kiran Nadar, Abhishek Poddar and Sunil Munjal, all of whom are opening new museums in different cities in India soon, to cultural icons such as Mira Nair, Rajeev Sethi and Ritu Kumar, and young parents, college students and school children, the fair was buzzing with energy. The aisles and booths saw people looking, engaging, speaking to the gallerists, making enquiries and enjoying their days out. Workshops led by art education organisations such as LAND and Access for All were fully signed up, with people walking out of doors with their handmade works and new tools to bring art into their own lives.
The 2022 fair marked a tipping point for Indian and South Asian art. As we rejoice, we must also accept the immense power and responsibility in shaping the Indian and South Asian art of the future.
There is a lot to look forward to this year, from wonderfully curated world-class shows at Kochi Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa and Dhaka Art Summit, which will make way for the next edition of the India Art Fair.