M A I N   N E W S

Buyers create a buzz at Delhi art fair
Nonika Singh
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 2
The fifth edition of the India Art Fair continued to create a buzz on the penultimate day as crowds appreciated a staggering range of over 3,500 works by nearly1,100 artists from 24 countries.

If school students and art lovers made the venue come alive with contagious energy, serious buyers, art collectors and 23 museum delegations from around the world translated the enthusiasm into real business.

Neha Kirpal, founding director of the fair, shared how in less than three days the fifth edition had done more sales than in the previous four editions put together.

Sharing the misgivings over prices of Indian art and speculation that these have been on the downslide, Kirpal preened that the fair had proved to be the much-needed booster shot that should herald a turnaround.

She said while several galleries like Religare and Experimenter had been a complete sellout, many international museums had made multiple sales. She also reiterated the need for the government to support the fair. Rather, she felt, the success of the fair should compel the government to declare the fair a tax-free zone. The current duty structure deters many international galleries from entering the Indian market. If that happens, she promised, the fair would contribute substantially to India’s growth story.

Sandy Agnus, her business partner, felt the fair was a perfect representation of the Indian art market. He admitted that Indian art market was much smaller in comparison to other art markets at the moment and could do with more galleries all over the country.