Art buyers & connoisseurs embracing the changing times with Virtual India Art Festival

by Suman Gupta

 ·         Show extended to 20th March 2021 due to popular demand

·         The ‘Virtual India Art Festival’ brings together 20 art galleries, 200 artists, 1000 artworks

·         Artists from Mumbai to Tripura to Varanasi to Singapore, the show promises a stimulating fusion of contemporary art with virtual reality

Mumbai, 7^th Jan 2020: The Covid-19 pandemic reset the lives of most people, forcing us to reassess our lifestyles. Artists who were pursuing their art thought the lockdown was an opportunity to let the creative flow and continue with their pursuits without hindrance. But with the end of lockdown nowhere in sight, artists had to struggle to find art material to finding buyers for their artwork. There was a silver lining to the dark cloud with the art scene slowly gaining momentum post lockdown with art connoisseurs opening their wallets to acquire art. As art galleries across India are still not functioning fully, the idea of bringing art online in virtual format started by the India Art Festival received critical acclaim from the art fraternity. India Art Festival, a contemporary art fair, after 17 editions at New Delhi, Mumbai took a new virtual avatar and presented virtual art fair online athttp://ww.indiaartfest.in.The show, hosting 47 stalls, 20 art galleries and 200 artists are exhibiting total 1000 artworks. The Virtual India Art Festival was flagged off on 18^th December 2020. Considering the response, the virtual art festival is extended till 20^th March 2021 at http://www.indiaartfest.in.

Rajendra, Founder of the India Art Festival and President, The Bombay Art Society shares, “Since it was flagged off India Art Festival received a steady stream of visitors every day. Initially, we used to get around 4000 hits on the website, but now it is settled at around 100-200 hits daily. Considering the condition of the art market today, this regular visitor flow to the virtual exhibition with the 3D stalls and walking-feel is highly encouraging for Indian art. It is heartening to see that Indian arts audiences are slowly warming to the idea of buying art online from virtual format shows. On the website, the visitors can virtually take a tour of 45 stalls, 20 art galleries, and 1000 artworks of 250 artists with a zoom-in facility in 2D & 3D virtual stalls viewing. There is a facility in every booth where the visitor can call or send a text message or mail instantly to participating art galleries and artists and even can pick up a digital copy of their catalogues from every stall”.

IAF, the only contemporary art fair in India hosting annual editions at Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bengaluru, positions itself today as a successful art fair with a focus on both – art galleries and independent artists. The uninterrupted journey of 17 editions in the last ten years entered into a short sojourn this year during corona virus outbreak. The covid-19 pandemic made us alter ways to continue with our contemporary life and compelled us to shift from the ‘conventional’ presentation of ‘visual art’ to digital platforms. Every year IAF hosts over 700+ artists and 50 art galleries from across India and other countries, showcasing 6000 works of art at New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Now all this is simulated together in the digital platform ‘Virtual India Art Festival’, making it Asia’s largest, unified & seamless art festival ever. This, a new way of art viewing and buying conceived during the pandemic promises to engage with the visual art audiences globally.

The visitors – art enthusiasts, art buyers, and art connoisseurs – to the virtual India Art Festival will enjoy this stimulating fusion of contemporary art with virtual reality, creating an incredible experience of immersive booths in the art fair!  The hundreds of artworks exhibited through 45 stalls include inspiring original artworks, paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations, and more. The visitors can choose the artwork they like and can buy it online at the virtual India Art Festival.

“It is inspiring to see that buyers have responded positively to the virtual exhibition; galleries and artists participating are receiving inquiries regularly. This has opened up a new avenue for art collectors, architects, interior designers, who can buy art directly from the artists and art galleries. We are happy to see the Indian art fraternity has responded positively to this change from a physical art exhibition at venue to a virtual show online”, he further adds.

The participating art galleries in the Virtual Art fair includes – Aakriti Art Gallery & Gallery Nataraj, from Kolkata,  Art Nouveau, Galerie Splash & Uchaan from  Gurgaon, ,  ArtDesh Foundation, Greyscale, Rhythm Art, Studio3 Art Gallery, and The Bombay Art Society – all from Mumbai,  Easel Stories, Noida, Eminent Art Gallery,  Gallery Endless Thoughts, Sudha Art Gallery, Thakalis  Art Gallery, and The Lexicon art Gallery – all from New Delhi along with Galerie Sara Arakkal, Bangalore,  Gnani Arts,  Singapore, Kala Bhawan from Tripura and Studio Vriksha Chhaya from  Varanasi.

Apart from master artists, few promising names in the artists’ pavilion include artist Dnyaneshwar Mane, Anushree Gupta, Meena Yadav, Mayur Solanki, Vikrant Karyakarte, Shriparna Sinha, Priyanka Anand, Rashmi Panchal, Chandani Parchani, Monalisa Parikh, Swathi Nahar, Asha Shetty, Manpreet, Narahari, Soloman, Shantaram Rawool, Sathyaseelan, Asha Panchal, Sunita Farkiya, Rupa Bannur and  Sweta Jain. 

Almost all master artists’ art displayed with mid-career, young and senior artists.