Traveling shows are a good idea

(By Nalini S Malaviya)

Nowadays, it is common to see art shows traveling from one city to another. As more and more art galleries come up in different cities across the country, collaborative efforts are on the rise. This, in fact is a wonderful way to increase exposure to art - it benefits not only the artist but also the viewer and of course, the gallery.

Multi-city exhibitions are now the trend rather than an exception. Cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai have become part of the art circuit. It is especially useful when bigger artists exhibit their works in metros and then these shows travel to smaller ones. In fact, many art shows are traveling not only within India but are also going abroad to places such as Singapore, New York, London and Hong Kong. For instance, a retrospective of artist Surya Prakash began in Hyderabad and has already traversed Mumbai and New Delhi and will soon arrive in Bangalore, before moving on to Munich, London and New York. Similarly, to mark the 75th birthday of Sakti Burman, a show of Limited Edition Serigraphs will be showcased in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi and Kolkata.

The entire process also proves beneficial to the prospective buyer or investor, for instance, people who are particular about physically seeing an artwork before making the actual purchase now have easier access to the art. And, although the logistics of organizing art exhibitions that have to be physically moved from one place to another can be challenging and collaborations with other galleries may not be simple, overall these efforts are good for the art market. On the other hand, most of the bigger galleries now have their brunches in different cities - both within the country and abroad, and for them it makes a lot of sense to carry their exhibitions from one place to another. As a buyer or investor one can subscribe to newsletters or information on forthcoming shows, to keep themselves updated about exhibitions that they are interested in and which will be available in their city in future.

(Published in Financial Times)