Introductory Note
We started the New Year with not-so welcome news about the raging pandemic. With fresh set of restrictions on movement and hosting of events, there have also been cancellations or changes that needed to be made to the arts and cultural events. With fatigue attached to the pandemic at this point, the constant state of lockdowns, restrictions and virtual events have been tiring for every art lover who yearns to see art in person, get to meet people and undergo the entire experience of being in an art gallery amidst the lights, the buzz and the people. One wonders how long we can keep substituting art fests with virtual viewing rooms which can hardly do justice to the experience of viewing art in person.
While we can’t really predict how things will pan out in the upcoming months, we can definitely praise the insanely talented ways in which artists and cultural professionals have made the most of the cards they were dealt by trying out a variety of different forms of reaching out to audiences and artists alike. Entire exhibitions have been successfully hosted on virtual platforms, with audiences adapting to technology in a positive manner over the past two years. For the first issue this year, we wanted to put focus on some of the recent initiatives that have been gaining ground and putting out fantastic work when it comes to the visual arts. With features on The Irregular Times and Cultivate Art, we also bring forth interviews with Vasudhaa Narayanan and Farah Siddiqui, two women whose works we truly admire and want to highlight.
- Ankita Ghosh
The Irregular Times
A unique initiative begun by Tarini Sethi and Anant Ahuja during the pandemic, The Irregular Times is a promising new quarterly Art and Design newspaper. The newspaper through its publications strives to bring out new perspectives surrounding art, media, activism, politics and contemporary culture. With an aim to revive print media, The Irregular Times tries to bring in new and unique voices that are accessible and inclusive in the highest sense.
Just a first look at the website gives one a peek into the interactive media that the newspaper tries to explore and work with. One of their attempts have been to make zines a part of the thought-provoking storytelling process when it comes to the newspaper. Given the rapid decline in print media with the onset of virtual platforms nowadays, a move like The Irregular Times which attempts to be creative with the process of bringing newspapers back into circulation is a move that deserves all of the applause it has been getting since the launch of the first issue.
Our curator at Art in India—Shyamolie Madhavji—had the opportunity to interact with Vasudhaa Narayanan who has been a crucial part of the team at The Irregular Times. She provides interesting snippets of the wonderful work that she has been doing as an artist and curator and also the kind of work being done at The Irregular Times for the quarterly issues.
Vasudhaa Narayanan—an intro
Vasudhaa describes herself as an artist and curator who began her journey in the art world around the year 2015-16. For her, it was her curiosity that led her to become an artist. While growing up she was urged to explore different artistic mediums, it was her interest in making things and her knack to observe and take note of things surrounding her that led her to move towards the arts as a profession. Within her artistic practice, Vasudhaa explores the ideas of femininity and domesticity and gender within patriarchal frameworks of our culture. She takes a keen interest in creating a space for things that are often considered taboo or talking about things that are uncomfortable--probing into intimacies between individuals, whether its families or friendships and things that are often left unsaid in these sort of tangible relationships.
As a curator, she’s the co-founder of Jagah—an arts collective based out of San Francisco that aims to bring artworks by South Asian artists into the limelight with the help of group exhibitions, performances, workshops, etc. Jagah has been focused on creating a space for south Asian artists to get proper exposure when it comes to their art forms. Choosing to work with artists within diverse South Asian communities, the goal of the collective is to encourage artists to reveal and uncover complex narratives rooted in South Asia.
Vasudhaa’s work at The Irregular Times
The idea for the newspaper really came about during the pandemic when one did not have access to the art galleries, museums and in-person events. The entire newspaper publication stems from this place of wanting to create spaces for artists to explore different narratives and express themselves at the conjunction of culture, society, the arts and whatever is contemporary and that’s sort of what’s been the central focus since the first issue. Also important was this sense of the newspaper acting as a collector’s item—with each issue being designed in a unique manner, and it being a tangible thing one can own.
We collaborate with different artists, have a theme and everybody works on that theme together. And essentially the idea is to have these newspapers be something that is tangible, that you can hold, that you can experience in a very intimate and personal capacity. There isn’t enough literacy or education around the arts in India. A lot of people go to museums and galleries and don’t feel they know what’s happening. So having the newspaper come to you, where you have the privacy to look at it in your own time is something that is really powerful to me. And as a newspaper we explore a lot of different things. We have an agony aunt column, we have essays on a variety of things, and we do a regular column in the newspaper called Making Strides where we profile different women who are doing really radical work. And it’s not just visual artists but artists in a variety of professions, just sort of giving them that platform to introduce their work and allow people to get familiar with diverse works of art.
And most importantly, with the newspaper we’re trying to work with artists who don’t easily have access to the art market, gallery or museum circuit, because essentially art should be accessible to everybody. So with the newspaper we try to create something that is really creative, and also teaches people something new. With The Irregular Times, each issue is different and it addresses important themes and we create and curate a sort of platform where all of these things speak to the larger theme.
Obstacles faced as an artist/curator
My most challenging experience comes from my time spent in San Francisco, where I’ve exhibited most of my work. I struggled with whether my work was being given space because of the quality of the work or was it just because I was a person of colour--a brown woman who’s talking about menstruation. That can easily be packaged into something that is common to the place that I come from. I had a problem with this because I was talking exclusively about my experiences when I made that body of work about taboos of menstruation that I had grown up with. So a lot of times, it was seen as too out there or overdone because everyone talks about menstruation apparently and yet we are still living in a society where it’s largely taboo. I personally think it’s not being talked about enough. So as an artist, I think that there’s a lot of self-doubt that artists struggle with on a daily basis when they are making their work. It’s so important to be patient with the process of making art, and that’s something that I still struggle with. In my art practice, obstacles I face include figuring out where my art lies and what spaces it can occupy.
Curatorially, the challenge for me has always been with funding. One may have fantastic ideas and want to work with really great people, but often I am forced to take on projects where I cannot compensate the artists who are going to be a part of the work that I’m doing. So financially there are always these constraints. And what I’m navigating right now is how funding will look like post-pandemic because personally I don’t have a desire to see viewing rooms online. It doesn’t excite me and feels forced. I want to go to spaces where I can see these works in person and that also impacts how I curate.
Unique art experience
One would have to be when I was working as a gallery manager at a gallery in San Francisco. And I was in an exhibition where I felt that the art was really average, and not really worth being showcased. That’s when I had an existential crisis about why make art, what’s the point of it. But it also really pushed me to continue doing what I was doing because I needed to have faith in myself in order to make good-quality work.
And the other instance would have to be when we had the first show for Jagah, which was in collaboration with another group of folks and it was called JAGAH/JADOO and the folks that we co-curated the show with, they had brought in a South Asian performer at the show who was so fantastic and it was such a beautiful experience to have been a part of. It was something that has shaped my practice as an artist.
Artists who inspire Vasudhaa
I love Sally Mann, she’s a fantastic photographer whose work I really admire. I really like Asif Hoque, who’s a South Asian artist and he makes really introspective paintings that are a delight to watch. I love Agnes Martin, who’s a fantastic painter. As minimal as her work is, I’m drawn to the simplicity within these artworks and the repetitiveness and dedication with which Martin works.
Cultivate Art
Started by Farah Siddiqui, Cultivate Art aims to create a bridge between emerging artists and collectors of art. Providing a space for cultivating art by young artists, Cultivate Art also works towards bringing collectors on board, allowing them to invest in building collections with care. Moving outside from the traditional space for exhibiting art, Cultivate Art tries to make the process of showcasing, viewing and purchasing art a beautiful experience. Finding new ways of showcasing art, Cultivate Art has also focused on trying out different formats of virtual and pop-up shows and connecting younger artists with a new audience that is interested in connecting with art. Here’s what Farah Siddiqui, who founded this unique initiative has to say about Cultivate Art and her journey in the arts in general in an interview with our curator, Shyamolie Madhavji.
Farah’s journey in the arts
Art has been in my DNA. I’ve always been interested in the arts. My mother used to be an editor of a magazine in Delhi, where I was born and grew up. I remember my mother would take me to exhibitions and performing arts shows. So I really started seeing art when I was a little child. For me there hasn’t been a division between professional and personal when it comes to art, but yes in 2004 I established the Farah Siddiqui Contemporary Art and we began with putting up a number of exhibitions across the city. In 2008, we launched a physical gallery space in Mumbai right in the heart of the art district in Colaba. And we began showing with a couple of Pakistani contemporary artists. But soon after the Mumbai attacks, we started facing a lot of difficulties in movement of the artworks and the artists. So we soon closed up the gallery space and moved towards focusing on consulting. It was really after we closed the gallery space that I got some wonderful opportunities working with international organizations, consultants, museums, etc.
In 2009, I met these Italian art consultants who were based in Milan and we established a fantastic relation post which I am now one of the consultants who works with them globally. In a nutshell, the journey has been very interesting for me. Every time I’ve felt that one door has closed, another one would open. And to me, that’s what art is all about—there’s some unexpected twists and turns that can lead to great opportunities. Since 2004, I have seen some wonderful changes in the professional space of the arts. For example—documentation of artworks, some fantastic museum exhibitions globally of contemporary Indian art, Indian art reaching new milestones and exhibitions of Indian artists alongside international artists. We’ve seen so many different things being done, with a bridging of the gap between what is contemporary, what is modern, and how Indian art is looked upon from the view of the world. And I’ve witnessed these changes firsthand. So I’ve been really fortunate in the last 20 years or so being in the art world.
And I must point to the changes in technology—for example in 2004 it was so difficult to find someone to make a decent website. I’ve seen how technological advancements have made a difference to the way in which we view or come across art. Earlier you couldn’t even get a decent website made and now you can buy millions of dollars’ worth of artworks in just the click of a button. NFT is the new buzzword in 2021 and it’s really something new but also very exciting. It has been a fascinating journey for me.
Cultivate Art Global
I’ve been working with a lot of art collectors, building collections from scratch or helping them invest money into art for a long-term investment. So I usually work with collectors who have a goal in mind. Firstly, we identify the goal of the collector involved—would it be a long-term investment or is there a short term goal, or specifically art for their office, or for the house, etc. At Cultivate Art, we also help resell things. There might be collectors who already have a lot of things that they are interested to give up, or something they want to sell. Cultivate Art began in a pop-up format. We didn’t want to be situated in a typical white cube space, because it can be very intimidating when it comes to younger people who just want to walk in and browse.
Since 2018, we popped up in architect studios, hosted a couple of exhibitions in different architect studios which are primarily working spaces. So we really broke in that white cube mold. We also use instagram as a major tool and we do a lot of small exhibitions there. On Instagram we usually do smaller formats, so we might show one or two artists there. And all of these works are priced between INR 15,000 to an upper limit of INR 3-3.5 lakhs. This seems like a very accessible price point. Our aim is really to foster a new generation of collectors through Cultivate Art. We make sure to provide an opportunity to a lot of younger artists, who have just graduated from art school and many of them have really promising works ahead of them. So we identify them and provide a platform for them to showcase art. It bridges the gap between people who want to start collecting and also gives an opportunity to people to showcase.
Obstacles faced in the artistic journey
Every industry has its own challenges, and the art industry is no different. One of the main challenges is that we need solid education at the primary level in schools because I feel a lot of children when they are younger they are taken to museums and it becomes such a tedious process. They start identifying going to museums as a painful experience rather than something pleasurable. We need to give arts importance at the primary education level. It should be taken on very seriously because the creative economy is quite a serious business. Every decade is remembered by the art that was made and it’s a reflection of society and of the socio-economic conditions, the political situation, and artists are visionary--they can help us see the future. Education is one of the key areas where we still need to do a lot of work. Along with this, the public art space is also something that is completely ignored in India. It needs a little better understanding, and some handholding in order to be able to cultivate the public art space.
Major experience to remember
For me working with art helps me experience things with a fresh set of eyes. I have been very lucky to be a part of interesting projects that have worked really well. There have been several projects which are worth remembering. For one of the projects, I’ve had the opportunity to work with both international artists as well as craftspeople. Working with artisans opened my eyes to a completely new art form that was craft. Working with artisans who were extremely humble with their practice and simultaneously working with designers has been quite an enriching experience. This was actually one my favorite projects to have worked on till now.
Parting words
This interview actually seemed like a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the journey I’ve had in the art world and to have seen all of the changes that have happened and all the wonderful art and architecture and design that I have seen so closely and been associated with. To see Indian art being exhibited in such a large scale--at documenta, art Basel, Frieze New York and London. So it’s a sense of pride that our culture has been getting the importance that it deserves when it comes to the arts. While our past heritage has got the attention it deserves, right now we are also being known for what has been happening in the last 20 years, which is contemporary art and architecture. And it’s a matter of great pride to be a part of that industry and there’s so much opportunity for things that can be done in the future.
There are some wonderful exhibitions that are being put up across galleries. The India art fair which is now a decade old has evolved to be a prominent space where a lot of international buyers and museums have come onboard. We’ve had women artists who have been overlooked for centuries in India now being acquired and displayed across museums in the world—whether it’s the met or Guggenheim, we have artists who are reaching record prices and auctions. So when I reflect upon the last fifteen years, it’s just been a wonderful journey and its progressing even better now, because there are more and more people who are interested in the arts and I see a lot more people now wanting to go to art school. A lot of young adults are taking the arts very seriously and that is really heartening to see.
Coming up in February
Mumbai Gallery Weekend
Initially slated for the first week of January, Gallery Weekend had to be put on hold given the raging pandemic in Mumbai during that time. With fresh dates for February, the Gallery Weekend will be an exclusive 4-day preview in between February 10-13, with a variety of different exhibitions to be put up. To be hosted with all sorts of Covid-19 precautions in place, Mumbai Gallery Weekend can be expected to be a refreshing opportunity for people in Mumbai to experience art in person after such a long time.
In Touch Edition 7
The 7th edition of the virtual In Touch exhibitions is currently available for viewing online. For those of us still vary of going out to see physical shows, In Touch offers a great way to experience art showcased by some of the most prominent artists and curators in India. The entire exhibition can be accessed on www.artintouch.com and a virtual walkthrough of the entire event is slated to be held online today at 6pm IST.