International appeal of art is on a rise and it is no longer being bought only by Indians or NRIs. Neha Kirpal, founding director, India Art Fair, talks about market evolution in the last five years
Many art fairs have come up in last four years resulting in international exposure like never before. How do you see the evolution of art market in the last five yearsIJ
The Indian art market is more alive now in these last five years, than it has ever been before. Right through this period of the global economic slowdown, there has been a great boost in the number of art initiatives — art fairs, biennales, museums, not for profit public projects etc have come up. All of these have supported the art market by broad-basing the participation base in the market and has brought exposure and understanding to a wider community of people. These recent years have also seen the internationalisation of Indian art and India as an art market for the very first time — with our own international art fair, our participation in Venice Biennale, early edition of Kochi Biennale and the first Christie’s auction in India. All of these go to show the investment various entities are making in building a market for the future, one that has a tremendous domestic reach and great international exposure. The best years for the emerging Indian art market are certainly ahead of us in this decade, and that’s not something most art markets can claim today, so we are in a coveted place globally.
What’s your market outlook for 2015IJ
I think India Art Fair is going to kick off the most commercially successful year for the art market in the last five years. There will be more business conducted this year that there has been in the last two-three years put together, and it will almost double the total turnover of the Indian art market.
Where do we stand in the global art marketIJ
China accounts for half the art market globally. In financial terms its market size is much larger than that of UK and France. It is a new market that has grown at a rate exponentially higher than any other market in the world has ever grown in the history of modern art. Simplistically put, you may say there are two mutually exclusive art markets in the world; the global art market and the Chinese art market. However, the Chinese state and people support its art market and are entirely responsible for creating a strong domestic market, irrespective of what’s going on internationally. Every other art market in the world is to be looked at in relation to the others, and in a sense part of an international art market ecosystem. This is where India is now finding its place over the last decade or so. Fuelled by the private sector initiatives and with virtually no government support, the Indian art market is today making its mark globally, and is growing from a place of being one per cent of the global art market. Its rate of growth is slow and steady and its banking equally on the strong domestic market base that’s rapidly growing in India and also on international patronage from museums and private collectors based around the world. Increasingly we can see the international appeal of Indian art is on the rise and it is no longer being bought only by Indians or non resident Indians. India allows for a degree of exchange and easy interaction with the markets and with creative communities of the world, in a way that China doesn’t. The future of India’s place in the global art market is secure as a promising emerging market with new ideas and creative inspirations coming from the socio political and economic realities of a developing nation.
How good will this year be for investorsIJ
In the last few years there was considerable disillusionment based on the short term and short sighted investments in art. However, all the fly by night investors have now been weeded out and what we are left with is a much smaller but stronger and growing real collector base that is looking at art as a long term investment. These are cautious, better prepared and better educated lot of collectors who will make better decisions and help in creating a more stable market which is a great foundation to build on. It may be seen as a blessing in disguise for the bubble to have burst because now we have a real chance going forward at building a strong and growing market for Indian art.