Framing a new future

Here are the creative ways in which art galleries are trying to survive in the new normal.

World over, art galleries had tried virtual shows even before the pandemic hit us. However, in India, this is the first time art galleries are experimenting with anything of this sort.

Sitting in the comfort of one’s home and touring an art gallery was something unheard of before this ‘new normal’. But, it now looks like virtual gallery tours are going to be the norm rather than exceptions. In fact, a total of 12 galleries — Chemould Prescott Road, Galerie Mirchandani+Steinruecke, Sakshi Gallery (Mumbai), Vadhera Art Gallery, Gallery Espace, Nature Morte, PHOTOINK (New Delhi), Experimenter (Kolkata), Galleryske (Bengaluru), Green Art Gallery, Grey Noise and The Third Line (Dubai), have grouped together and started a programme ‘In Touch’, a digital exhibition platform to present online exhibitions of works of art.

In these lockdown times, there was no dearth of entertainment for the fans of music, cinema and books. The only people who didn’t have any source of entertainment were art lovers who regularly enjoyed hopping from one art gallery to another during lunch breaks or on weekends and marvelled at the creativity and interpretation of a subject by an artist. “I think it’s one way of seeing art. And yes, I do think it will become the norm in the future, especially because it breaks down physical boundaries. For example, I’m able to see a show in Boston, at my own time, in my own pace,” says artist Aditi Singh whose works were on display in the first episode of this programme. Aditi, who is known for her oeuvre of flowers, has held many exhibitions in museums and art galleries across the world.

A display of solidarity

Appreciating the event, renowned sculptor and painter Riyas Komu says: “As we are just stepping into a long-term crisis, this initiative taken by these galleries is very important and relevant as it shows solidarity in the art community. It will also sustain the galleries and give confidence to artists.”

The platform not only helps in viewing the works of artists which are on display for a month, but also enables art lovers and buyers to interact directly with the artists and galleries. It also helps the art community to connect with each other as the website has dedicated sections for every gallery to exhibit the works of their artists.

Roshini Vadhera of Vadhera Art Gallery, Delhi, says: “Although it cannot substitute the physical space and viewing of art, a virtual presence is the next best thing for galleries and museums all over. At times like this, people often turn to the arts for comfort and with such initiatives, they have at least an option of viewing art online.”

Surge of response

Varunika Saraf, another artist whose works were on display in the first episode of ‘In Touch’, says: “Virtual tours have been happening for a while now. A lot of museums have made their collections accessible. A phenomenal amount of content has been put online in the past few years. Many museums were offering virtual tours of their galleries and were engaged in internet-based educational outreach programmes (take for example, the MET museums’ timeline of history) before the pandemic. Google Arts Projects has been offering virtual tours of several museums, art projects and events and even archaeological sites. There is also a lot of interest, of late, in virtual and augmented reality platforms, which merge visual artworks with real-time art. The latest of these is Acute Art, which features works by Olafur Eliasson and KAWS(Brian Donnelly).”

Though museums don’t sell their collections, these virtual tours of exhibitions in the galleries is helping many artists. As Anita Singh says: “I was surprised by the online response to my work. When my gallerist Thomas Erben in NYC sent out a work I had made during the pandemic, there was a surge of response. I had an old collector write to me from Vienna and it was wonderful to be in touch again.”

New artists may not be so successful. As Riyas Komu says, “any new intervention will take time to reach everyone, especially in the art world. We saw many established artists in these online exhibitions. It is because of the belief that recognition helps in introducing a new, alternate premise. Eventually, as confidence builds up among galleries and collectors, the list of artists will get a good mix and that juxtaposition will be the only way to move forward.”

Signing off, Shireen Gandhy of Chemould Prescott Road says, “working together collectively is indeed the way forward in ideating, uniting artists and creating platforms that would continue to drive the destiny and legacy of an art world we are so intrinsically bound to.”