Art feast ahead in Bangalore

As Bangalore’s penchant for art sees an upward trend, here’s more to take it forward full throttle. Art Bengaluru 2011 is back and bigger with its second edition and promises 10 days of visual treat, with ample art buying opportunities, a confluence of masterpieces, upcoming art work and interesting and innovative artistic mediums under one roof.

The festival, which will kickstart from June 17, has been scaled up this year, from its last year’s version, which ran for only three days and had mostly Bangalore galleries participating. Owning to the fantastic response that it garnered, Art Bengaluru this year will feature 17 galleries and a mix of artists from various galleries across the country, culminating into a luxury-meets-art auction. Says Uzma Irfan, organiser of the fest and founder of Sublime Galleria that actively promotes upcoming art forms in the city,

“When we started last year, we were a little hesitant about how the festival will be received. But we realised that a lot of Bangaloreans are passionate about art and pick up artwork when they travel to other cities or countries. Our aim was to bring varied art forms right to where it was accessible to all in the city. This festival gives them the opportunity to indulge in art from different genres and parts of the country — all in one location.”

The festival, which will also showcase artists like Yusuf Arakkal, Krsna Mehta, Arpana Caur, Murali Cheeroth, John Devaraj and a host of others, is on its way to become an annual property that the city can boast of. However, the aim is not to compete in any ways with events like Art Summit in Delhi, explains Uzma. “We just want this to be a meeting ground for good artworks and wish to make the event bigger each passing year.” Art Bengaluru hopes to capture Bangalore’s imagination in a way that even amateur enthusiasts can turn into avid art lovers. As Renu George, a participating gallerist from the city-based gallery, Time & Space, says, “The opportunity to see so much body of work is an enthralling experience and whether people buy or not, they must come to the festival to experience the beauty or the artworks displayed.”

Art consultant and writer Frank Barthelemy, who is closely associated with Art Bengaluru, says though the art scene is relatively new here, Bangalore offers a great set of experimental buyers who take interest in different forms of art media. Though the city still remains a bit conservative when shelling out big bucks, says Frank, there’s ample scope for buying and selling art due to a big segment of nouveau riche population that’s come from the burgeoning IT industry. Festivals like these, Franck explains, not only cater to art lovers, but also provide the right opportunities for city-based artists to find their market, turning Bangalore into a hot spot of the future, on the art radar of the nation.

Art Bengaluru will be on at UB City, from June 17 to 26.