Contemporary Art: 8th Annual India Art Fair January 28 to 31, 2016 in New Delhi


From a media release:

8th Annual India Art Fair
January 28 to 31, 2016
in New Delhi

NEW DELHI - The eighth edition of India Art Fair takes place January 28-31, 2016 in New Delhi and welcomes visitors to the largest contemporary art event in South Asia. Offering a unique opportunity to discover the best galleries in the region and beyond, India Art Fair's programme includes lectures, projects and events across the capital with an emphasis on cultural experience and education.

It is the fifth most attended art fair in the world, with the last edition attracting around 80,000 visitors. India Art Fair is South Asia’s leading platform for modern and contemporary art and portal to the region’s cultural landscape. Founded in 2008, India Art Fair has become the bedrock of a now booming cultural community with connections to every level of the market.

Building on these foundations, India Art Fair is expanding its programming to reflect South Asia’s immense diversity in the visual arts and to provide a platform for innovation across disciplines and exchange, throughout the region and the world.

The India Art Fair is as much about the business of art as it is about the art lover's - and especially art collector's - experience and there are a number of events and activities that work towards that goal. The speakers series look at topics that arnage from a look at the new generation of South Asian collectors to the great Indian graphic novel. A film programme rounds out the offerings.

The galleries represent a cross section of contemporary South Asian art from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka with a sprinkling of galleries from Spain, the U.K. and the United States.

This year there'll be high-level representation from Guggenheim and Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, Carnegie Museum of Art, Palais de Tokyo, London's Victoria and Albert Museum, art auction powerhouse Christie's, the Colombo Art Biennale and Lahore Biennale Foundation, to name a few.

Zain Masun is the IAF's new international director and has overseen new initiatives and directions. To this end, IAF offers a much more tightly-curated fare this year, stamped clearly with the global clout of Masud, who worked previously for five years as assistant fair director of Art Dubai.

The 2016 edition is the most inward-looking one held so far, and engages with India’s folk and traditional arts. Foremost is Kalam Patua : From The Interstices Of The City-II, a solo show on Kalighat painter Kalam Patua curated by art historian Jyotindra Jain. A postmaster in West Bengal’s Chandpara sub-post office by day and artist by night, Patua’s works have featured in international museums such as V&A. Patua is a contemporary exponent of the 19th century style that originated outside Kolkata’s Kalighat temple. “Kalighat artists represent the syncretism unique to the subcontinent—Muslim artists paint scrolls with accompanying folk songs on Hindu gods and goddesses. Kalam, however, is a contemporary artist, choosing subjects such as communalism, dowry, urban life, eroticism in his works, using the language of Kalighat art,” says Jain.

THE DETAILS
VENUE
NSIC grounds, Okhla Industrial Area, New Delhi

VISITORS HOURS
29th - 30th January, 2016 (Friday and Saturday) - Public Hours: 2 PM - 8 PM
31st January, 2016 (Sunday) - Public Hours: 11 AM - 7 PM

Accommodations
There's a good choice of hotels and other accommodations available not far from the industrial area where the India Art Fair is being held. Here are a couple of suggestions:

Jasmine Boutique Hotel
50, Pocket-I, Jasola Vihar,
New Delhi- 110025, INDIA
Email : sales@jasmineboutiquehotel.com
Tel (24x7): +91 11 41641601/2/3/7

About 2km from the Art Fair site, you'll find comfort and contemporary luxury at the Jasmine Boutique Hotel. The mid-priced hotel offers value and personalized service in a small boutique hotel.

Eros Hotel
Nehru Place, American Plaza,
New Delhi, 110019, India
TEL: 91-11-41223344 / FAX: 91-11-26224288

About 4km from the Fair, the splendid Eros Hotel overlooks the Lotus Temple in Nehru Place with a palatial sense of style. You'll find five star contemporary grandeur throughout with a distinctly Indian flair, with all the usual amenities, including a spectacular outdoor pool.

Comments