Art fairs may primarily be commercial events, but every international fair worth its salt has attempted to add intellectual heft to its presentation and create “The Art Event” through curatorial intervention.
In its seventh edition this year, the India Art Fair finally decided to follow suit by appointing writer and curator Girish Shahane as artistic director—a first for the fair. Shahane has previously helmed Art Chennai and was one of the advisers to the now defunct Škoda Prize for Indian Contemporary Art.
For the
fair, starting later this month, Shahane has curated the Artistic Projects
segment—which features works by Francesco Clemente, Atul Bhalla and Daniel
Buren, among others—and tied this to the Speakers’ Forum, which has panels
featuring some of the artists, as well as curators like Adam Szymczyk, artistic
director of dOCUMENTA, and Sheikha Hoor al Qasimi, director of the Sharjah
Biennale and curator of the UAE pavilion for the Venice Biennale later this
year.
Shahane
speaks of his attempt to improve the projects at the India Art Fair, the need
for better museums in the country, and why government patronage is important
for the arts to flourish.
When were
you approached by the India Art Fair?
The first
conversation with (founder and fair director) Neha Kirpal happened in January
2014, if I remember correctly. The India Art Fair is the most important annual
event in the Indian visual art calendar, and I was happy to associate with it
as artistic director. While the fair has built a very strong brand, it had
never previously had an art expert on the team. Having seen past editions, I
felt I could help improve the special projects and the layout of the fair. The
projects could be better organized, some weeding out could happen, and the
conference could be tied in with the projects.
In most
international art fairs, an artistic director has control over the overall
presentation. Why is your role limited to two segments?
I am in
charge of the special projects, the Speakers’ Forum, and the Spotlight Series,
which is a new addition to the talks programme. Beyond this, I have contributed
substantially to the layout and was consulted on gallery selection. I don’t
consider this a limited role.
Does having
a theme work at an art fair, bringing a unity, so to say, to the presentations?
I don’t
think a theme would work well, because art fairs collaborate with participating
galleries, each with its own roster of artists. It’s very different in a
biennale, where curators have a large budget and can choose any artist they
like, and therefore build an expansive thematic display. I have chosen work
that I believe will interest laypeople as well as informed spectators.
The selection
focuses on interactivity, site specificity, and temporality. The first term is
self-explanatory, the second indicates works that are unique by virtue of being
created for a particular location, and the third refers to works that change
and develop in time. I have interacted with most of the artists, but the degree
of it has varied. In some cases, the suggestion for a project came from me, in
others from galleries.
How
different has it been to curate the India Art Fair and Art Chennai?
The two assignments
were very different, apart from the fact that both involved long-distance work.
Art Chennai is spread across the entire city, and is more challenging in that
respect.
The India
Art Fair has been the only art fair to thrive in this country. What do you
think is the reason for this?
Working with
Neha Kirpal, I have seen at close quarters how driven and single-minded she is,
and how passionate about building the fair. It’s always the people behind an
organization that are the key to its success. Business models hardly vary from
one company to another. During the dot-com boom, a number of art portals were
launched, but only Saffronart survived. That was because Dinesh and Minal
Vazirani had the passion, vision and ambition that others didn’t.
What are the
highlights of the fair this year?
The Delhi
Art Gallery has an absolutely massive booth, and they plan to cover most of the
major movements in modern Indian art. I believe the outdoor projects will make
a big impact, with the street artist Daku, the world renowned Francesco
Clemente, and locals like Vishal Dar and Veer Munshi in the mix. The conference
has been integrated with the exhibition for the first time, so 10 artists
featured in our special projects will also participate in Speakers’ Forum
panels.
Do you see
the art market picking up in the near future? What can motivate this change?
It will
certainly pick up if the financial markets remain strong. The two are strongly
correlated.
What needs
to happen in this country in terms of building infrastructure for the arts?
We need many
more museums, and better ones. And better teaching of art in school. A lot of
people address the (state of affairs in art) in terms of the market, whether it
will go up or down. That is a shallow perspective. That is because there are
not many interested in art itself. The field of art in India is underdeveloped
and under-patronized.
Development
is not limited to the art market. The depth comes from instilling in young
people the conviction of the importance of art. And that can come from schools
and museums. That is what happens in Europe, where museums have school tours,
and from a young age they are given the conviction of the importance and
relevance of art. People in Europe buy art primarily for the love of it, not as
an investment. In India, it’s the opposite; people buy as an investment. This
attitude can only lead to booms and busts.
Is there
real global interest in Indian art or is it limited to the big names at
auction?
I think the
interest from abroad is geared more towards innovative art than sticker prices.
Are more
people in India beginning to collect art now?
I wouldn’t
know, though I suspect not, at least not in substantial numbers. When I first
became interested in art, all collectors bought for love, even if the price
wasn’t substantial. At one point the boom started and genuine collectors were
priced out or they too started buying into the idea of art as investment. Art
as investment is a dreadful idea. It’s only good investment if buyers buy for
love of the art.
The India
Art Fair, for instance, started during the recession. The Europeans felt things
were going down for them while they were looking up in India. That’s when they
showed interest in India. However, the art market in Europe recovered better
than in India. We were burnt out. That’s because Europeans are traditional
buyers, they buy for the love of art; they had stability.
Is patronage
for the arts dwindling in India?
It’s not
exactly dying. Kochi (the Muziris Biennale, currently under way) pulled in a
lot of private sponsorship. However, every big event—the India Art Fair is
primarily a private initiative—and even private museums need government
support, in terms of land and taxes. In Kochi, for instance, the government was
the biggest sponsor. But the government needs to deliver on its promises.
Unfortunately in India, it seems that we have all the duty and the government
has all the rights. They promise and don’t deliver, and there is no
accountability. That’s the downside to it.
What
happened with The Škoda Prize?
This is
connected to the size of viewership, as opposed to the scale at which they
invest. When the spectatorship size is smaller, media interest is smaller too,
and they cannot reach the level they want. I hope the Škoda art prize will be
revived by another sponsor, though the chances of it happening diminish with
each passing month.
The India
Art Fair will be held in New Delhi from 29 January-1 February. For details,
visit www.indiaartfair.in
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