India’s first online art fair aims to be more comprehensive and more convenient for artists, viewers, buyers and gallerists alike.
The world’s first online art fair, the VIP Art Fair (short for Viewing in Private), took place earlier this year. Inspired by it, Bergundy Art has just announced India’s first online art fair, India Art Collective (IAC), to showcase Indian art and explore its online potential. IAC will enable viewers and collectors to browse, book and buy without going to a gallery.
On the IAC site, visitors will be able to zoom in on a painting’s surface, get multiple views of three-dimensional works, watch videos of multimedia displays, and find information on artists and galleries. Using a slider wall design, artworks will be showcased on an “infinite” wall space. Works will be displayed in relation to other works, and one feature of the software will allow works to be shown in a size relative to a human figure.
Over 40 leading galleries, including Chemould Prescott Road, Nature Morte, SKE, Sakshi, Vadehra, Espace, Apparao, Akar Prakar, Palette, Tao, The Guild, Experimenter and Kashi will take part.
IAC will be different from a real-world exhibition because there will not be thematic limitations. “The whole body of work for a particular artist will be there,” says Bhavna Kakar, owner of Latitude 28 gallery, which will participate. Besides, “a Subodh Gupta might be placed alongside an S H Raza. This you will not find in a traditional fair.” A buyer who wishes to see a work with his or her own eyes can always visit the participating gallery during the show week.
The IAC site’s navigation tools will allow visitors to view art in three categories based on price — that is, the Signature Series, the Collectors Series and the Value Series. Visitors can share favourite works with friends via social networking sites.
Sapna Kar, co-founder and IAC fair director, says: “Art fairs occupy a central position in today’s art world. They allow art lovers and collectors to discover a vast collection and newest trends at a single location.” The IAC advisory board consists of art business leaders, including Sunil Gautam, founder of the India Art Summit, Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and creative director of South Asia Ogilvy & Mather, and Bhaskar Das, president of the Times of India group.
“For artists IAC would mean one more mode of promotion of their work,” says Kakar. “For art lovers, since all the prices are up there on the website, they can make a comparison between two works, and they can even Google to get more information about the works they are interested in.” An online art fair suits gallerists as well. “More than artists it will be good for us gallerists,” Kakar of Latitude 28 says, “because setting up an actual fair is quite a headache.”
The online art fair opens at www.indiaartcollective.com on November 19, 10 am, and ends November 26, 7 pm. Visitors can browse free of charge