3500 artists showcase their art in the Bangalore edition of Indian art festival
Women artists ruled the carpet at the India Art Festival (IAF) as 65 per cent of the booths in the Indian art festival (IAF) are led by women artists. Rajendra the organizer of the event said that the contribution of the women artists is more this time.
Ms.Nazneen Bano, director of National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA),the chief guest in the inauguration event said, “I’m glad to see so many women artists in this event, and also delighted to know that many of them are budding artists and the festival is helping them to showcase their talent.”
However, not everyone is happy with the arrangements. The cost of setting up of booths range from Rs. 60,000 to Rs. 6,50,000 depending upon the size of booth.
Rajendra Patil, Director, India Art Festival, however said that the cost was low compared to other art festivals. “We try to incorporate established and new artists. I even make concessions when it comes to showcasing artists from not-so-well-off backgrounds,” he said.
Yet, several artists find it difficult to afford a stall at the festival is very difficult. Sanjai Kumar and Vishwanath Shetty who represented Orissa’s Pattachitra art said, “We are a group of 100 artists funded by Jalinee Grameen Art and Craft Sameeti, a Mumbai based organisation. The organisation helped us to get a booth here otherwise we could never have been a part of this event. If we make the profit in this event, then only we will be able to participate in the next edition of IAF which is going to be held in Mumbai.”
The number of foreign stalls showcasing art from foreign artists have gone down, this year only stalls from Singapore and Dubai are left. Rajendra agreed that the number of foreign artists is not as much as in the past, but IFA was not focussing on it just now. “We are thinking of empowering Indian art and artists,” he said.
Shyam Verma, an established artist expressed his dissatisfaction over lack of sales. He said, “ I have participated In IAF, Mumbai but there were hardly any sales and somehow our day passes.”
IAF events are organised in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. This year Bangalore has 25 galleries showcasing 400 types of art of 3500 artists in 100 booths. Only sevenbooths are from Bangalore; the rest from places like Delhi, Mumbai, Noida, Lucknow, etc.
Mundane problems:
The other smelly problem at the IAF was the state of the washrooms. The flushes did not work, water flooded the floors and the washroom was dirty.
Nalini, a visitor to the event said “The organizers should look after the cleanliness of the washrooms. There is water logging everywhere, the flush is not working and as the washrooms are unisex, they are very limited. The mobile washrooms for females are also closed.”
Other guests in the inauguration event were Mr. Suresh Jairam an art historian, professor K.S Appajiah vice president Karnataka Chitrakala Parisad and Ravi Kumar Kashi a world renowned artist.
