The Washington Post looks at Contemporary art in India where there is no museum infrastructure. So people are relying on galleries and auction houses for an education. Is that a good thing?
“Contemporary Indian art is an ivory tower endeavor, and very few people actually understand it,” artist Manisha Parekh said after listening to Waswo. “Public conversations like this are important, not just for a layperson but for artists as well.”
Art curators say contemporary Indian art often captures the conflict and contradictions of a nation of more than a billion people that is undergoing the transition to an economic powerhouse. According to the Indian auction house Osian’s, the Indian art trade has been growing at 35 percent annually. In the past five years, the rising sales of Indian art at global auctions has created a buzz that India may be a new hot spot for the global art market. This drove many uninitiated Indians to invest in art.
[ . . . ] “These art outreach programs are usually packed, with no place to sit. It shows people are hungry for this kind of a dialogue. And then there are those who are in desperate and urgent need to learn because they have invested in art to make a quick buck,” said Kavita Singh, associate professor in the School of Arts and Aesthetics at Jawaharlal Nehru University. “Unfortunately, the city’s public museums have had rudimentary education programs where they bring in school groups who just walk in and walk out. Private galleries and auction houses that have a commercial stake are filling this gap.”
India’s Art Appreciation Grows with Investment (The Washington Post)