Art News: Jaipur Art Summit 2017

5th edition of Jaipur Art Summit (Dec 14-18, 2017) planned on a much larger scale

Rajasthan and specifically Jaipur, which had always been an art, culture and heritage rich city in the world has now steadily and strongly made its presence felt on the world art scenario. Jaipur is creating an international language of art, literature and design and some of the festivals have been really instrumental in giving Jaipur an international and national presence, one of them being the Jaipur Art Summit. 

Over the past 4 years, the Jaipur Art Summit has been able to create a premier platform for modern and contemporary art in the state to display the work of masters as well as young and upcoming artists from the globe. The five day long event is a first of its kind in the state. 
Its effort is to take the rich legacy of the state in various art forms across many mediums and formats like painting, digital art, art installations, sculptures, interactive art and other contemporary and folk-centric expressions to a wider spectrum of audience. 

It includes an international painting exhibition, national seminars / talks on contemporary and traditional art related subjects by scholars of repute, international art camp, site specific art installations, live art demonstrations of rare art forms, video art screenings and art films apart from performing art forms. 

The prime objective of the summit is to bring together artists working in different mediums and genres, cultural art players, art historians, critics, institutions and galleries from the country and the globe to promote art and build an environment for appreciation for arts, exchange of peer learning and knowledge sharing. This will help in bringing together regional, national and international voices alongside a world view, fostering possibilities of partnerships and create newer pathways for art promotion globally. 

In this coming 5th edition of Jaipur Art Summit the event is planned on a much larger scale taking into its ambit many more dimensions of not only contemporary art but also tribal and traditional arts internationally, owing to the response in the 2016 edition.

In 2017, the scheduled dates for Jaipur Art Summit are 14-18 December and the Summit would include participation of international/ Indian artists, art colleges, literary figures, architects and interior designers in several distinctive art events like: 

• International Artists Camp and Artist Interactive Sessions 
• International Art Exhibition  and Galleries Show 
• Demonstration of Tribal and Traditional Arts 
• Site Specific Art Installations 
• Contemporary Art Talk and Discussions 
• Art Movies and Art Critics Session 
• Art Performance Shows 
• Creative Art Workshops
• Graffiti and Street Arts 
• Experimental Photography Shows 
• Digital and Multimedia Arts 
• Performing Arts (Folk/ Theatre/ Music/ Dance)

(press release)

Modern artists remain in demand

(By Nalini S Malaviya)

Although, art prices for both modern and contemporary artists have fallen substantially in the last few months, it appears that the demand for certain modern artists continues to rule the market. Most buyers look for specific artists when they scout the market to make an investment in art, and a majority of them look for artists that form the biggest brands. The reason behind the trend is that as the demand for these artists does not follow seasonal changes, it is easier to resell their works.

Most of these modern artists have been a part of numerous international auctions and their works have reached a stable graph both in terms of quality and pricing (although, their auction price points are much lower than what is seen by their western counterparts). Recently, too, it was noticed that at auctions held in India and abroad, the modern artists were much more in demand compared to the contemporary artists.

Collectors who own works by the top most segment of modern artists are happy to wait out the recessionary period as they are sure that prices will go up in the future. Or, when approached by prospective clients the sale figures they quote remain on the higher side. This is yet another instance where the seller dictates terms. In fact, negotiations, if held, are minimal.

Still, one can see that buyers are not on a wild spending spree – images are carefully evaluated before the sale actually happens. It also implies that awareness about art and its pitfalls has percolated extensively and made the buyer more discerning. This single factor alone will help the art market immensely, after all, when buyers will demand quality, the artist and the dealer will have no option but to comply.

The demand for modern artists may persist for some time as the buyers continue to play safe, but soon, when the market begins to revive at a faster rate, and there is lot more liquidity to play around with, interest in contemporary art is likely to shoot up again.

(Published in Financial Times)