Art mart warms up to consultants
Debasmita Ghosh | TNN
Akhadi kurta, a long sling bag and a miserably pensive face peeping out of an overgrown beard – is this the stereotyped image that springs to your mind when you think of an artist? Well, that may have been true some five years back, when the word ‘struggle’ was an accepted part of life for those who dared tread this path. Fortunately the scene now is far brighter, thanks to the increasing popularity of the Indian art. As the world opens up lucrative avenues in the form of art auctions and investments apart from extravagant art fairs, things are hotting up at the art mart. Considering the amount of money that is flowing into this field today, it’s just a matter of strategising to grab a share of this large pie.
Claiming a stake in this are not just artists but also art galleries, promoters and the latest addition in the area – art management and consulting firms. Even as Hyderabad, with its myriad galleries, artists, curators and promoters, is gradually growing into a hub of art, there seems to be a battle brewing among the stake-holders. The artists who once struggled to put on display their works are now reaping the rewards of the competition between the galleries and the promoters to ‘market’ their works.
However this sector still remains highly unorganised in India. In the absence of any monitoring authority or art council. Art consulting and management firms capitalise on this gap and apply management principles to give this industry a professional makeover. Gallery owners on the other hand are tagging such practices as nothing but “a mode of fooling people and making a fast buck”. They say that art consultation by managers, instead of trained artists, will only lead to promotion of undeserving artwork. “Earlier artists were aware of struggle but the fresh breed wants quick success. Art consultants would only focus on business aspects and would not hesitate to promote even junk,” says the owner of a prominent art gallery. Others, however, are maintaining a neutral approach to the whole affair. Nemiraj Shetty, owner of Hasta Art Gallery, says that a decade ago not all art shows were handled by curators but now curators have become indispensable partners. “Similarly, now art management and consulting firms are trying to get a foothold by being intermediaries between artists and galleries and other operations that involve a lot of money. Artists have to understand that while curation is an aesthetically designed activity, consultation is just a business,” he adds.
