There has been a deluge of art and enterprise and I am not complaining. It is a compliment to the art world in South Asia that is getting its due commercially and consequently the magnitude is a seismic, Richter scale manifestation on our Indian shores. I am resigned to the fact that this abundance is fulfilling and a privilege to soak in thanks to its accessibility, if not to own the effort. It is a sign that the collective arts are finding their feet, spreading wings, to acquire maturity. Here’s to art consumption for the complete space of creative galleries & museums, collectors, connoisseurs, educators and the marketplace.
GOA TO BIRTH FIRST IIMW’25
INDIA’S music industry is finally getting set to lay a framework on par with the music world on a global footing. The First India International Music Week 2025, February 4-6, will debut in Goa.
India’s first global conference and showcase festival gears up to bridge and connect the music market with talent and expertise. The platform over three days will bring the industry 50+ artists, 100+ experts from 25+ countries, 100+ speakers, workshops and networking opportunities, and 25+ mercurial performances by avant-garde artists from home and abroad.
The inaugural edition of IIMW’25 is not just about curated live performances in the Luso-Indian tiny state of Goa. It brings the industry, professionals to build high-impact relationships, leading insights besides the opportunity to discover tools, technology and global talent that holistically shapes the future of this industry right here in our golden sands.
This is a one-stop platform for all stakeholders as the music industry comes unto its own. If you are a seriously engaged stakeholder you can’t miss the exchange. Here’s wishing the initiative a successful inaugural edition!
NANDY GUHA RE-UNITED
I HAVE a picture back in the glorious ‘80s with the late Pritish Nandy of The Illustrated Weekly, Times Of India fame. Nandy went on to make a flamboyant dent in other media as well. It was the time when media was in a flux and the response muscle was flexing its way in the TOI editorial stronghold. Pradeep Guha was the “Bossman” response superhero and the editorial protege was Pritish Nandy on the heels of the illustrious lineage of Khushwant Singh and MV Kamat.
I recall the IW with its Mario Miranda Illustrations (and the artworks that landed in the bin in the Nandy regime). So many insider stories in the green room of the newsroom some of which kept social media abuzz to date. I can imagine the two pow-wowing as Nandy joins Guha on a larger planet where I guess media has limited access and no reach! This was when ambition and following your dreams were defined by these high-achieving go-getters who changed the media paradigm.
NARI GO ROUND
I WAS invited for a celebration of the goddess within “Nari” by Founder & CEO You.Art Geeta Nallani. An “artpreneur” she brings her genial spirit to the canvas, encourages young artists to pursue their creative expressions, and reaches their fresh perspectives to the end user. She had some works displayed at the beautiful Jio terrace space. She silently got going as she learned that she had to clear up the paintings immediately after the event. The petite lady personified the “Nari” we were celebrating as she physically dived to move the artworks to be transported. That’s hands-on immersion that defines and completes enterprise. More power to our resilient women who make the planet a beautiful place.
ART ATTACK
TO put the superlative frenetic Mumbai Gallery MGW in perspective, it is the best opportunity to get the creator, creation and the curation together firsthand. The excitement is palpable, the experience is extended to knowledge and art walks that bring in satiating bonhomie connects. Once the dust settles, I revisit or discover the ones I didn’t want to camp in. It is then I am rewarded with the solitude of the spaces that speak to me, a kind of sole ownership connect between me, the artwork, and the space. I am stoked by the exhibitions that I have been able to partake in and continue to do so. They deserve a listicle which I am compiling. So much to do, so much done.
SALONI DOSHI’S SPACE 118
TO wrap up a few of the experiences the top of the line had to be Saloni Doshi’s Space 118. To get a sense of the surroundings instead of taking the Byculla route, I got to Space 118 via Dockyard road. It was highlighted by murals that brightened up the warehouse walls. The exhibits from her collection are fascinating. No long detailing but the curation by Sumesh Sharma has narratives that bring the sculptures and history alive. His walkthrough through the tiled roof studios and conversation with LN Tallur, in the pleasant open-air venue surrounded with raw mango boughs and spring flowers hanging below the crescent moon, is an encouraging sign of the patronage of the arts.
The “Once Upon a Time in Bombay” paintings of good ole Bombay at DAG are absolute treasures. Paintings by Walter Langhammer (a key member of the Bombay Art Society), LN Laskar and SG Thakar, reveal the transformation from the colonial hub of the 19th-20th centuries to the bustling, bursting megapolis we know now.
Pheroza barely caught her breath as she battled the challenges of Mumbai to reach the packed venue to reminisce about her love for the city that has endeared her. She is outspoken in her gentle manner but makes her point when it comes to speaking up for the city’s civic issues like the diminishing tree cover and the consequence of climate change due to the green destruction rampage in the name of “development.” Go see for yourself what we have lost out on and which is what art does. Preserves our narrative down time.
ICONIC REFLECTION
MY pick of the season is two-fold. Rajeev Lochan’s curation at Akara Modern brings to life an iconic painter, Jaidev Thakore, who was a recluse and pursued his creative passion quietly. While the works are now posthumously astronomical due to limited supply his styling is unique, especially the man-animal watercolours. If you search there is no mention of his passing away around the beginning of this century. I sent Rajeev a couple of images of Jaidev’s work mirrored on the window panes of the space behind Taj Palace, Colaba and it led to a cherished exchange on the phone. I reproduce his curatorial note to put it on record ad verbatim.
JAIDEV THAKORE & HIS FANTASIZED REALM OF POETIC JUSTICE
ENCAPSULTION in retrospect and reviewing Jaidev Thakore’s creative journey (1943-2006) and his fantasized realm of poetic justice…is akin to peeping and introspecting into the psyche of an extremely individualistic being. He unfortunately left behind an unfinished journey full of awe and laden with surprises. Having known him personally during the years that I spent in Baroda between 1972-79, I know he led his life on his terms and conditions with a sense of creative adventure.
Critically viewing and evaluating the body of his work is like experiencing an “intuitive order” in a “metaphoric chaos.” Originating from realised everyday realities with a pinch of quirky, macabre orchestration of people, experiences and happenings around….and all this with a sense of objectivism satire and humour often pungent and penetrative. These experiences extremely personal and experiential in nature have been transported with a lyrical poetic objectivity accompanying skillful execution. They transport the self into another worldly experience…true yet mythical.
NEW GALLERY ALERT
THE gallery discovery of the Mumbai Gallerie Weekend had to be Fulcrum in the cul-de-sac Kala Ghoda nook. Fulcrum opened with an exhibition of prints by Odisha-based artist Amiya Ranjan Ojha, titled, ‘A wall made of holes.” The works in the exhibition emphasise the grim realities facing migrants across India, the backbone of this country’s economic engine yet often obscured and erased from its glossy growth story. Depicting vignettes of their working and living conditions, Ojha’s black-and-white collection contrasts their stark existence as an underside to unremitting urban expansion and development. Got to go back for Chat and Chaat.
ISA IN STYLE
SUNDAY done right at Galerie ISA. It was for a talk with Spanish artist Santiago Giralda in conversation with writer Shreya Ajmani, on the occasion of his solo exhibition — Maps Of The Invisible — in conjunction with MGW. Giralda discussed his creative process, which blends photography, digital techniques, and painting, as well as the key themes of his work: the intersection of the tangible and virtual, and the evolving perception of landscapes in the digital age.
OPEN: BDL
THE wait is over. Bhau Daji Lad Museum is now open to visitors! The 152-year-old underwent two years of repairs and refurbishment of the sections that were worn out by the BMC through their Heritage Cell. The original restoration work was carried out in 2003–08, which received the 2005 UNESCO Award of Excellence in Cultural Conservation.
`WILD FICTIONS’ ON MY WISHLIST
TO wind off, a royal conversation at the cultural hub of Mumbai ROH was AVID learning and Anil Dharkar’s Lit-Live (now ably shouldered by Amy Fernandes and Quasar Thakore-Padamsee). The newly Erasmus- awarded Amitav Ghosh (the only Indian writer in English to be bestowed the Jnanpith), launched his book “Wild Fictions” in Mumbai again at ROH, no sooner than “Ashes” had simmered to his latest. It is a snappy compilation of essays that makes you crave the book that the maverick author signed at the venue. Go get your copy and then plan your travel.