Hyderabad-based Iconart Gallery organises show featuring works of 40 artists to initiate the young to acquire art
Buy Art, an affordable art exhibition which has been a regular feature of Hyderabad-based Iconart Gallery since 2013, had a new curator this year: Gandra Lipika Rao, who took the reins from her mother and gallery founder, Avani. Armed with an ISB degree with a specialisation in marketing, Lipika quit her corporate job in 2018 to get into the arts sector and has been conducting art therapy workshops since then. Her interactions with people in their 20s and 30s opened new horizons in this new journey. “The youth who are now making their living are interested in the arts. Some of them want to build their new homes beautifully but are not sure what their taste is and where to start,” says Lipika, adding that the show is also an opportunity for the youth to grow their art collection. “An art collection connects with the wealthy but with so many emerging artists, buyers can start young and explore their own taste in art.” She wants to make art more accessible to a wider demographic, including a young clientele. That is probably why her curated show is called ‘Young Collectors’ Conclave’, featuring works of 40 artists across the country, from July 30 to August 20. “Even a small and selective art collection brings in an intensity of emotional expressions, positivity and vibrancy into the atmosphere at home, office or public spaces,” says Lipika. “It inculcates in the household, work place, in their children and employers a larger vision of looking at life. In other words, it builds the culture of the place even as it financially propels the value of the art works,” she adds. Young people investing in art involve in identifying new talent, in fostering artists as patrons and also making business sense out of the involvement in sourcing and collection art, Lipika says. She believes the internet boom and free wheel travel around the world by young people for their education, careers, holidays have accelerated the interest in art – with visits to galleries, museums marked on their ‘must do’ list of things. Her curatorial note states: “Public spaces of art in cities have become points of interest and curiosity world over. The visual access of images and videos, participating in discussions about art are now accessible for active participation like never before, making it a fertile space to explore, acquire, appreciate and invest in the art of their choices, using their own discretion and thus developing aesthetic and critical appraisal of art around the world. This privilege was accessible to very few earlier. These facilities and technological revolutions have brought art to the doorsteps of every household in various capacities.
It’s the right time for young people to use these platforms and enrich their lives with the profoundness that art expresses.” Lipika says in these times of visual bombardment and lack of attention due to the upsurge in the use of visual media on social media, it’s now become more important to learn to discern, to be aware of valuable creative, cultural aspects, from the ever-spewing imagery around. “Collecting and appreciating art brings in an opportunity to nurture artistic talent by becoming a patron of art and in acquiring an increasing knowledge of artistic practices around the world, which is forever breaking new grounds, fostering creativity and innovation of human expression,” she says. The Young Collectors Conclave “is a first of many upcoming programmes that creates access to quality, affordable art. The art works are carefully selected for a variety of genres and styles ranging from natural, realistic, figurative, abstract expressionist, with pricing accessible to every budget,” she adds. It’s in the plan to have more art exhibitions, workshops, lectures, both online and in real time to reach out to more youngsters to take interest in art collection – whilst creating a more vibrant cultural awareness of art appreciation and preservation.
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