The Indian Art Fair Needs to Get Out of its Bubble and Reimagine Itself

I first attended the India Art Fair some 15 years ago, much before it had become a mega social and cultural event. At the time – but for some curious onlookers – the big halls were largely empty and desolate. Bored gallery owners and booth representatives from many foreign galleries sat amongst their wares, wondering perhaps if their adventure into India’s art market required a rethink.

Now all that stands changed. In the 17 years of its existence, the fair has grown in size and diversity, becoming one of the largest in Asia, on par with Art Singapore and Art Dubai. As it opens this week, over 120 galleries and more than 40 new and young artists will participate from South Asia, giving the exhibition a decidedly subcontinental flavour. This time the widening arc of foreign participants like Lisson Gallery, David Swirner and others will not miss the chance to sell big in India. Alongside them, numerous Indian galleries, collectors and art institutions will vie for that special place in the public eye and the private wallet.

The warehouse set up is a cross between a stylish white-walled gallery and a Dilli Haat, a fusion in tune with the widely incongruous combination of the art on display – shiny stainless steel Anish Kapoor sculpture, ceramic work from Bengal, monumental Ai Wei Wei paintings, Rajasthani miniatures, glass installations and tribal art from Odisha. The wholly democratic and diverse four-day event is always in pursuit of a balanced egalitarianism. Throughout the vast space there are artworks with hidden messages on gender, politics, censorship, beauty, ugliness and oppression. Installations of stretched threads, 3D paper works and darkened video black boxes are all enormously stimulating and expressive, many works stating new and original positions on environmental and social themes. The eccentric mix, however, makes abundantly plain that today’s art is no longer meant for the living room sofa wall.

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However relevant the individual works, in its most potent message, art needs to be a tool for optimism. Every year when I visit the fair, it is with an expectation that collectively the assembly will act as a guide to what makes India better, truly creative and upbeat. And that somewhere in the eclectic mix is a revelation that makes us different from Art Basel and Art Dubai. Every year I leave confused and disappointed. Sadly, the fair seems destined to grow within its own commercial bubble. Largely self conscious, insular and private, it remains fixated in an awkward mix of internationalism and Indian traditional art. A successful formula that need not be tampered with.

Now, after 15 editions, the India Art Fair must rethink and redefine its vision of what makes it different from European and other Asian fairs. Is it enough to display art as a varied collection of booths for private galleries, or does it need a more transformative display of ideas relevant to India? Could the phenomenal range of Indian talent be organised differently? Could the fair in fact evolve into a pathbreaking event in the future, beyond a mere commercial art bazaar?

For this, three things are of utmost importance: organisation, theme and medium. First, a reorganisation of the presentation away from individual gallery booths into one unified space, so that the artworks and their relationship to each other tells a clear story. Second, a greater interest in the art would come from a theme-based event rather than vastly varied pieces showcased in little rooms – themes as wide ranging as The City, Technology, Ecology, Gender, Family, The Future and others that artistically engage with the relevant political and social issues of our times. Finally, there is the need to focus on a different art medium each time – either sculpture, drawing, film, video, installation, etc. so that the fair is not always just a painting exhibition. These changes will help not just to place the vast material into a narrative sequence, but will also allow the admiring public to gain an understanding of what is truly relevant.

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Today, there are few public platforms in India where people can speak boldly and fearlessly about things that matter. To be timid in a medium that can communicate loudly and effectively would be a shame. Beyond just the so-called Khan Market gang and the Lutyens crowd, there are many more people waiting to hear. If, however, art merely continues its foray into political abstraction and the commercial market space, it is likely to miss the opportunity to make that important public connection.

Unlike European and American galleries, our cultural connection with art has still not formalised into critical experience. It is instead a mix of idle curiosity, some wonder and tentative investment. Indian art’s frame of reference is both raucous and contemplative, crowd pleasing and private, its ideas traditional and futuristic, some dormant and unexplored. With the India Art Fair widening its reach each successive year, there is hope that these will finally leave the enclosed gallery and reach a wider public.

Gautam Bhatia is an architect and commentator.