Talent, ideas and potential – the India Art Fair

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Sue Ward talks to Neha Kirpal, founder of India’s very successful Modern and Contemporary Art Fair, held annually in Delhi.

Sue Ward  Firstly, may I thank you for talking to Cassone: The International Online Magazine of Art and Art Books. I must start by asking, when did you first become interested in art?

Neha Kirpal I have had an interest in art since school (I was the cultural coordinator at school and at college!), but I have never studied it.

SW  Does your family have any connections with the world of art? 

NK  No, my family is not connected to the art world. I did not grow up surrounded by art, but it has always been something I have found interesting. In fact, I was always fascinated, but found art galleries to be really intimidating places, so didn’t think that art was accessible to many people in India. This is why I set up the India Art Fair – to make art accessible to people here, so we can all learn about it, appreciate it and support artists.

SWWhich came first, the plan to start an art fair in India or your Masters in Marketing for the Creative Industries from the University of Arts, London? In other words was the Masters instrumental in planning the fair or was it a means to an end?

NK  I always knew I was interested in the creative industries, which is why I chose that Masters programme, but the idea to start the India Art Fair came to me during my time in London. The academic qualification definitely helps, but it was really living in London and seeing the huge variety of art and the accessibility of it that inspired me to open up a world that was (and still is) quite closed in India.

SW  Starting India’s Modern and Contemporary Art Fair must have been daunting but at the same time very exciting – what were your thoughts?

NK  The limited infrastructure in India makes things difficult but nevertheless India is an extremely exciting place at the moment – and this is definitely true for the art space.  There is a huge amount of talent here, and ideas, and potential for innovation and growth. So, overall, it has been inspiring to build an art fair in this kind of an environment which comes with its own challenges but also with tremendous opportunities – for the artists, education and the art industry.

SW  At what stage in the planning did Sandy Angus join you and become co-founder?

NK  Sandy Angus and Will Ramsay came on board as co-owners in 2011; both the fair and the art market have seen several changes since 2008, when I founded it. For one, the fair has seen unprecedented support and growth, which we are thrilled about. The decision to bring Sandy and Will on board as partners was partly because they are both very well experienced in the global art industry, and each run successful international art fairs, and they bring that expertise and access to a wider global network to India Art Fair.

SW  How strong is the market for Indian contemporary art is within India itself, and is it seen as building on long-established traditions or breaking with them? 

NK  The market for Indian contemporary art is not as strong as it could be. Indian contemporary artists are pushing the boundaries – they are producing truly ground-breaking work. India’s art colleges have immensely talented graduates. I am proud to say that the India Art Fair is instrumental in promoting these artists’ careers.

However, the art market does need to develop – as in many parts of the economy, there was a bubble, with some works selling at very high prices. The market has not returned to that level and perhaps it should not. Rather than returning to inflated prices, which never last, we need to focus on the long term: increasing exposure, international reach and education. 

To answer your second point – artists are both breaking with tradition and continuing it. India has a fantastic artistic tradition, which can be seen in its contemporary art. Now, new mediums, materials and technologies are allowing artists to express themselves in a way that they never have before.

SW Is it important to you that India has a strong place in the international art market? 

NK It is important to me that India gains a strong place in the global market for art – we are not quite there yet. This is one of the reasons I set up the India Art Fair, to bring exposure to India’s talent and to focus international attention.

SW What do you see as the main strengths of Indian contemporary art, and what might the barriers be to international sales success?

NKIndian modern and contemporary art is in many ways is still emerging, and it is at a very exciting point of its development and a representation of the times. For Western collectors, it is exciting because it is still a relatively unexplored territory. This part of the world, in the current times, has very major developments and activities on the political, socio-economic and human issues fronts, all of which provide an exciting stimulus for art. Artists responding to these and exploring a variety of new innovative mediums, are producing fresh bodies of work that are interesting for audiences, both Eastern and Western.

The main barriers are lack of knowledge and exposure. The Indian government does not help to promote Indian contemporary or modern art, so aside from a few home-grown galleries which promote Indian artists abroad, and of course the India Art Fair, there are few opportunities for artists to be discovered. We are working to change this.

SW  I understand that over four years 260,000 visitors from 67 cities around the world, have made India Art Fair one of the world’s most attended art fairs? How did you achieve this?

NK  Part of the reason is the wide spread awareness-building programmes and publicity built around the fair. We reach out to the media, and to diverse audiences including collectors, high-net-worth individuals and corporate audiences, luxury brands, as well as youth, students, and the general public in India, and of course the global art community. The fair is also in January/February every year, which is really an ideal time to visit Delhi. There are several cultural attractions which take place over the winter; the art fair itself as an exciting, and very wide, collateral events programme (galleries, museums, restaurants, hotels, etc. tie in their events around the week of the fair) so it is an exciting time to visit, for anyone interested in experiencing what contemporary Indian culture is all about.

SW  What are your plans for increasing the number of foreign galleries exhibiting? Are you actively marketing the fair to the world?

NK  We are very focused on bringing international galleries to the India Art Fair. As I mentioned, we have led an extensive global marketing and PR campaign and it is paying off. In 2013, we have 104 galleries from a total of 24 countries, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Israel, Korea, Latvia, Turkey, Pakistan and Russia. We are hoping to carry on expanding that list, both to showcase Indian talent to them and to bring foreign artists to India.

SW  Do you see your main support coming from Asia, and if so what are you doing to attract other parts of the global art market?

NK  Our support base is both international and domestic. Also, the Indian diaspora is a huge supporter of the India Art Fair.

As for the home market, India is a country with a growing population of millionaires. Its middle classes are also growing. This increasing spending power opens up brand new opportunities, and changes the way people think, their ambitions, and their achievements. There is a new generation of people who think very differently than their parents and grandparents about spending on luxury, art included.  

Yet, we still have a road to travel in terms of educating the market and gaining more momentum.

SW  Good luck for the future, and thank you for talking toCassone