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6 Indians on contemporary art’s global power list

Artists Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale feature on the 84th spot, down from 83 last year while art collector, patron and philanthropist Kiran Nadar makes a debut on the 99th position

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Artists Bose Krishnamachari and Riyaz Komu
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If going up 30 positions on the World Bank's Easy of Doing Business index made us happy, then the Raqs Media Collective has given us cause to truly rejoice. The New Delhi-based art collective, comprising Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula and Shuddhabrata Sengupta, has jumped 47 positions to take the 39th spot on ArtReview's 2017 Power 100 list. The global list is considered to be the most established ranking in the contemporary art world, and is compiled by international contemporary art magazine ArtReview. Artists Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale feature on the 84th spot, down from 83 last year while art collector, patron and philanthropist Kiran Nadar makes a debut on the 99th position. German artist Hito Steyerl tops the 16th edition of the annual ranking of the contemporary art world’s most influential players.

ArtReview editor-in-chief Mark Rappolt told DNA that the list is not just about markets and economics. “Power in art often transcends money,” he said. “The fact that Raqs Media Collective, Riyas Komu and Bose Krishnamachari and Kiran Nadar are included on this year's Power 100 is an indication of how much India is part of the global conversation in art.”

Rappolt attributed Raqs Media Collective's leap to the busy calendar they've kept since last year. They curated the Shanghai Biennale to positive reviews. The collective had its first major UK exhibition, at the Whitworth Museum in Manchester in September, and this year their work was included in eleven group shows internationally, including the Sharjah Biennial. “More than that however, their way of working — mixing art-making with curating, lectures and teaching — is becoming increasingly influential,” he said.

Kiran Nadar found place on the list for providing artists time and space to create their works. “This year the collector co-produced or loaned many of the works on show at Documenta for example, including Amar Kanwar’s films and Ganesh Haloi’s paintings; supported the Jayashree Chakravarty exhibition at the Musée Guimet and Nalini Malani’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou, both in Paris, and sponsored a special project by Sudarshan Shetty at the India Art Fair,” said Rappolt.

Nadar had a mixed reacted to the news, saying that while it's good that Indians are finding representation on the list, the recognition has been long overdue. “Look at the way China has got representation in art. When the crash in 2008 happened, their art market was even worse off than ours. But today it has jumped many fold. But it is very good that we are getting much more acceptance,” she told DNA. “When I started my private museum, I had thought that many more people would follow. Beijing alone has over a hundred private museums. For art to flourish, there has to be an impetus from the government. But that hasn’t happened.”

For Riyas Komu and Bose Krishnamachari, who've made it to the ArtReview Power 100 list for the third time, it's an acknowledgement for their efforts in putting India on the world contemporary art map with the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. “ArtReview's efforts have been to recognise what is happening in the art world, do a survey and acknowledge the hard work everybody is putting in and highlight it,” said Komu. “Its a privilege to gain a spot on the 16th edition of the list. We both feel that its a deserving recognition for the Kochi Biennale Foundation even though the list mentions our names because we're the co-founders, the entire credit goes to the Foundation team who work very hard in making these editions happen.”

Komu was particularly thrilled about other Indians featuring on the list. "We are very happy for them because they deserve to be on it. Kiran is one of the most important art figures in the country right now and is doing a lot of good work in the area of Indian contemporary art, with her museum and patronage."

Top 10 on the ArtReview 2017 Power 10

1. Hito Steyerl

2. Pierre Huyghe

3. Donna Haraway

4. Adam Szymczyk

5. David Zwirner

6. Hans Ulrich Obrist

7. Iwan & Manuela Wirth

8. Thelma Golden

9. Bruno Latour

10. Gavin Brown

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