The other day a mid-rung artist dropped in and was sharing his story of woes about getting a gallery on rent and while I was commiserating with him I couldn’t help thinking that this has remained a co
The other day a mid-rung artist dropped in and was sharing his story of woes about getting a gallery on rent and while I was commiserating with him I couldn’t help thinking that this has remained a constant for at least the last 25 years, especially in Delhi and Mumbai. The art boom came and went and this problem has remained. To my mind, it is one of the biggest hoaxes played on the Indian art scene.
How much is real and how much is artificial is anyone’s guess, for many of the ones who get the galleries have not applied for renting galleries much in advance but still manage to get them because of “connections”. Hapless artists can go begging, applying half a decade ago but to no avail. In case the powers that be don’t want to give the gallery to someone, they will find any excuse in the book to cancel it even at the last minute as many of my artist friends have discovered.
There is no transparency in bookings and whosoever they want to give the gallery to, gets the gallery at a week’s notice ostensibly “against cancellation”. Nowhere is this rule more abused I am sure. This great pricey act perpetrated by a few galleries that are available for rent sounds like a bad joke to me for many reasons. For one they claim that they have a great selection process. Another hoax, for how do they explain some of the utter tripe they showcase Surely in a 52-week year, art lovers would be happy to see at least 20 shows that are worth the space they are exhibited in. But obviously that is not the case. If this is not playing favourites then what is
I know an artist who has applied to show in Jehangir art gallery six years ago and is still waiting, while another has been able to get to show twice in the same period. Ditto for galleries like Visual Arts Gallery in Delhi and these are not isolated cases. It is indeed unfortunate these public galleries are being treated like some personal fiefdoms. In the case of autonomous galleries like the Lalit Kala Akademi who have arguably the best galleries in the country, do give outstation artists at opportunity at reasonable rates. But other government bodies like the ICCR too stake a claim to their spaces and book almost a year in advance for visiting exhibitions.
One of the galleries that has managed to still remain accessible (and for art’s sake I fervently hope continues to remain so) is the Art Spice Gallery in a centrally located five-star hotel and still doesn’t charge over-the-top prices but in case anyone wants to lay it on thick, all the trappings of a five-star are available complete with a special arty menu. Stainless Art Gallery too has managed to keep its nose clean from nepotism and other charges of “booked for years in advance” type of fake charges.
The genesis of the problem can be traced to when private galleries were almost non-existent and few of the private galleries had their own spaces. Over the years the galleries have mushroomed and have managed to garner smart new spaces for themselves yet their lack of support to newer artists has remained a constant. For private galleries rarely encourage new artists and their spaces are not available for rent. It is the proverbial chicken and egg syndrome: I will not promote you and I will not let you hire my gallery either, so where does an artist go When available for rent galleries are only a few, they are at the mercy of rentable galleries.
I feel galleries like Lalit Kala Akademi and Visual Arts, which are preferred for reasons of space and location, must have greater transparency for booking them and private galleries must not be allowed to book these spaces for more once a year. I am always vastly amused when I read or hear reports that galleries are booked for years in advance for more often than not, it just means that you are not among the most favoured lists of these galleries who are trying to play God! The season is in full swing and I personally would like to see shows in these galleries that actually warrant these spaces.
Dr Alka Raghuvanshi is an art writer, curator and artist and can be contacted on alkaraghuvanshi@yahoo.com
