Bangalore art lovers make a point

It was a week when a premier shopping destination turned into an art lovers’ paradise. There was art along the corridors, easels tucked into nooks and a trail of fine canvases along the endless halls that join the many high-end shops in the UB city mall. The contemporary art festival, ArtBengaluru, featuring works by famous artists from the city and elsewhere, had visitors arriving in droves to check out the works. The writing on the wall was very clear: Bangalore has a serious artistic side that is all set to get more earnest in the years to come.

The 15 participating galleries brought with them their own collection of works, which included paintings, sculptures and photographs by professionals in the field. The festival was brought to the city by The Collection @UB City and Artchutney.com and was an attempt at bringing artists together to promote fine art. The idea was also to help Bangalore have its own contemporary art festival, like other cities across the country.

Several trends emerged from the art show, one of them being that the city is ready to buy art more as a passion, and not always as an investment. “People here buy art for pleasure,” says Raj Bagaria, founder of Artchutney.com, who was one of the organisers of the event. “Art that was priced from Rs50,000 to Rs1 lakh had the most buyers. Unlike other cities in India, art as an investment has not really caught on here. Though there were some buyers who bought works for approximately Rs3 1/2 lakh, the majority of buyers opted for the former bracket.”

According to Leena Chethan, director of Tangerine Art Space, there is a lot of awareness among those who come to buy art now. “More and more people are becoming savvy and have done a lot of research, consulted art blogs, and garnered a lot of information about the kind of work they are interested in. One of my objectives has always been to draw people into art spaces, make them more interested in art, and then, help them make financially prudent art decisions.”

When it comes to buying art, most Bangaloreans gravitate towards the canvas, according to Bagaria. “The medium of the canvas is far more popular than works on paper or any other medium. Figurative art has also been the most popular.”

Another interesting trend thrown up by the festival is the dramatic change in the art scene. “The triad of the buyer, gallery and the artist has undergone a tectonic shift,” says Bagaria. “The artist, during the boom period of art some years ago, was in the danger of treating art like a commodity. A lot of work was in the market very quickly. Today many artists have realised they must concentrate on what they do best; concentrate on quality rather than quantity,” says Bagaria. According to him, the galleries are working towards offering right prices and winning the trust of the buyer, which had diminished during the boom period. As for the buyer, he or she is much more aware of art, both in terms of quality and price, thanks to social networking sites, blogs and the intense research they do.

Also, the buyer gained knowledge during the bust of the market during 2008-2009. “The art market has recovered from last year, but I personally feel we can never get back to that boom period again,” he adds.

Artist Gurudas Shenoy, who participated in the festival, found that it was a refreshing experience for artists to meet art lovers. “I think such festivals should be done regularly, whether in a mall or anywhere else,” he says. “When an art festival is organised in a professional way like this one, people take art very seriously. A lot of people have been interested in buying the works; I have had many enquiries and bookings.”

Adds Kapila Sengupta, head of operations and promotions, The Collection @ UB city, “When we were planning the festival, we identified art as the thing that comes closest to luxury. Bangalore has always loved art but today, we also have the “aspirational buyer”, who has never bought art before but is now ready to do so. Each gallery has sold works at this festival.”

The organisers plan to host ArtBengaluru every year with the support of artists. This festival is on till March 4 from 11:30 am to 8:30 pm.