From a hobby to big business

The recently concluded India Art Fair has brought into

focus the growing number of young women who are tapping the business potential

of the Indian art market. It was considered a hobby at one time, like knitting

or flower- decoration. When a woman said she was interested in art, the

assumption was that she did a bit of painting on the side, or perhaps some tie

and dye. But that was a while ago, before women got smart about the money in

art. Today, a growing number of young women are entering the Indian art market

to tap its huge potential. As curators, gallery owners, auction house

representatives and art administrators, women are omnipresent in diverse roles

and are taking the industry to global markets. We talk to some in the industry

to find out about its challenges.

QUEEN OF THE ART FAIR

It’s no small job to bring together 98 galleries from 20

countries and more than 1,000 contemporary artists from across the world.

That’s what 31-year-old Neha Kirpal, founder and director of India Art Fair,

managed to pull off. After getting her masters degree in marketing creative

industries from the University of Arts, London, Kirpal returned to India in

2007 to find a potential but fragmented art industry. “ I could sense a huge

opportunity in the Indian art market waiting to be tapped and decided to create

a common platform for artists, gallery owners and buyers in the form of an art

fair,” says Kirpal.

The Art Fair was conceived with the idea of expanding the

domestic art market and simultaneously bringing home the work of global

contemporary artists. Kirpal charted her business plan while on a flight from

Delhi to Mumbai and luckily got a loan of  1 crore to get it going in 2008. From a meagre

10,000 visitors three years ago, the footfall rose to 128,000 last year. The

fair has exhibited and facilitated the sale of world renowned artists right

from Picasso, Mark Chagall and Joan Miró to M F Husain, Anish Kapoor to Anjolie

Menon.

Much of Kirpal’s success can be attributed to her timing,

combined with a sharp business instinct. “A lot has changed in the last few

years and art is gradually becoming much more affordable,” she declares. More

young and well informed people are turning into buyers, providing an impetus to

the market. “With well travelled and better exposed buyers entering the market,

there is going to be a big demand for trained professionals in art management

and marketing,” she predicts. Besides the art fair, Kirpal is working closely

with the Tate Museum in London to set up the India Acquisitions Committee.  Moreover she is now a member of the art

advisory committee at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and

Industry.  

TALENT FOR AUCTIONS

She can be credited for bringing an exhibition of works by

world renowned artist, Damien Hirst for the first time to India in 2008.

Maithili Parekh is the India representative for Sotheby’s and works with high-

end collectors, introducing their collections to art auctions across the world.

 She has auctioned numerous million-

dollar works by Indian masters, M F Husain, Gaitonde, Raza, Souza and Tyeb

Mehta. She facilitated the sale of Bharti Kher’s The Skin Speaks a Language Not

Its Own for $ 1,427,500 in 2010 in the Indian auction in London— a record for a

woman artist at auction. Parekh’s training in art history in England and in the

US helped her understand global art. “I have always been passionate about art,

but my inclination was more towards its management,” says the 31-year-old.  A brief stint with finance on Wall Street also

improved her management skills. Then she worked with various art galleries and

museums in the US and India before joining Sotheby’s five years ago. “Although

art has been patronised by maharajas for ages India, the auction market was

non- existent until NRIs started buying and selling art a few years ago,” she

says. The art scene has a bright future in India, according to Parekh. “The

last 2- 3 years have been especially good for the market as price fluctuations

were minimal. Growth in the art auction market has been steady,” she says. The

last decade has witnessed Indian collectors participating in auctions around

the world and Parekh is happy to be a participant in this process. “It feels

good to be the first representative of Sotheby’s in India and to have started

an auction market from scratch,” she says. Still, there are challenges. “Unlike

the market in China, where many foreign players are entering, in India buyers

are mostly Indians. We need to expand the buyers’ base and promote Indian art

better in global auctions,” she says.

WHEN ACTIVISM ENTERS

An MBA from the Carnegie Melon University and a lucrative

job of a strategy consultant on Wall Street didn’t deter Myna Mukherjee from

plunging into the art world. As a trained Indian classical dancer, Mukherjee

felt there was a dearth of South Asian art representation in a cultural hub

like New York. “I felt the need to fill this gap by bringing in the best

artists from the region and offering them a good platform,” says the 38- year-

old. She made her entry into this world with MOSAIC , a South Asian cultural

festival at the Lincoln Center in 2000. Hereafter Mukherjee moved on to

producing and curating several South Asian art events in New York. “My business

management background and familiarity with the art world helped me identify

opportunities in the art market,” says Mukherjee. Seven years later, her name

was synonymous with art production in New York. In 2007 she founded Engendered

, an annual, New York- based transnational arts and human rights festival that

brings together contemporary South Asian arts to explore complexities on gender

and sexuality in the region. “It was a huge success as it amalgamated all forms

of art with a social cause. We were included in the cultural calendar of New

York, which I rate as the biggest achievement,” says Mukherjee. Soon she felt

compelled to create a similar platform in India and last year she opened

gallery Engendered at Shahpur Jat in Delhi, with the idea of promoting art

centered around social issues. Mukherjee feels that the Indian art market needs

to keep pace with global trends. “For instance, conceptual art is growing in a

big way globally and we need to create a market for it in India too,” she says.

Mukherjee has set a simple formula for success: “Understand the industry and

then define your own strategy, both short- term and long- term. Have confidence

in yourself but also be ready with a backup plan,” she says.

CURATOR AND A GALLERIST

It’s been eight years since Bhavna Kakar became an art

curator. The entire business of conceiving a theme, coordinating with artists,

putting up a show and marketing it well is a thrill for Kakar, who freelanced

with art journals and taught at the National Museum Institute before becoming a

curator. “Despite my love for art and degrees that include bachelors in

painting and masters in art history, I never wanted to be an artist,” says 33-

year- old Kakar. Her job constantly challenges her creativity and

organisational skills and it seemed natural to become a gallery owner at some

point.  So Kakar went ahead and opened

her own gallery, Latitude 28 , at Lado Sarai in Delhi in 2008. The gallery

supports the production, presentation and placement of works by budding

artists. Simultaneously she also started her own magazine, Take on Art , which

seemed a natural progression in her decade long journey as a curator, writer,

and art consultant. Kakar sees tremendous opportunities for young women in this

industry which was earlier largely family businesses. “You need an eye for art,

good communication skills, visualising abilities and an ability to tap your

target audience,” she declares.

 

LED BY PASSION

Gitanjali Dang may not have a degree in art but she

developed a passion for it during her stint as an art and culture journo in a

Mumbai based newspaper. She was invited to do a show which was hugely

successful and there has been no looking back. “ I started getting offers to

curate other exhibitions,” quips Dang. In the last seven years, this 32- year-

old has worked with private galleries in Mumbai and Delhi. Last year Dang

surprised everyone with her innovation in putting together the Khoj

International Artists’ Association’s Shikaar: The Hunt. Her Internet art

project Beam Me Up_ Project India was also hugely successful.