India Art Fair 2016

The 8th edition of the India Art Fair, one of south Asia's biggest platform for modern and contemporary art was held from 28th to 31st January 2016 at the NSIC Grounds, in Okhla. Each year the fair exhibits exquisite pieces of artwork that include paintings, sculptures, photography, mixed media, prints, drawings and video art. The fair also arranges guided walks for visitors by experts such as curators or even students of Art History to lend insights into the period, region and styles that some of these artworks have taken their inspiration from. There is also a panel of Indian and international specialists who arrange discussions on issues pertaining to art. The India Art Fair, thus has a lot to offer not only in terms of visuals but also through stimulating talks and discussions. Some of the galleries which displayed their work this year were the Art Alive Gallery New Delhi, Palette Art Gallery New Delhi, Sakshi Gallery Mumbai, Imaginart Gallery Barcelona and Grosvenor Gallery London. There were works by numerous solo artists as well, who exhibited at the fair.

This year, interested students of classes VIII to XI were taken to visit the India Art Fair. The Delhi Art Gallery arranged a special curated walk for the students. The students were exposed to several art forms on this walk and were introduced to the art of becoming discerning viewers of art! Besides this, the Delhi Art Gallery had displayed some iconic works of Indian modern art that the children got to view. These included works by masters such as Amrita Shergil, Jamini Roy, GR Santosh and MF Hussian. The work of European artists in India such as those of Thomas Daniell, Henry Singleton and Thomas Hickey, a huge suite of Kalighat paintings, a scroll by Bishnupada Roy Chowdhury exploring life in rural Bengal and a melancholic work on the Kalinga war by A Ramachandran. The students enjoyed a very enriching day at the fair. Several were very excited and animatedly discussed perspectives hitherto unfamiliar! We expect a new level of interest in the classroom too. How can we not hope we will have emerging artists from our very own bank!

Garima Singh Art Department