India Art Fair has gained a hold on the art audiences in the capital of India, Delhi.
India Art Fair is an annual event of the thriving art scene in India. Held on the far grounds of Okhla in Delhi for this year, the gathering is a coming together of Art lovers from around the world. It exhibits both local and global galleries representing artists and their artworks. This year, M.F Hussein, S.N Raza, F.N Souza and all the other big names in the Art industry are being displayed.
In 2025, India Art Fair will exhibit the 16th edition to those who visit the ticketed event. Over the years it has gained steady growth in reaching the otherwise busy audience of India. It attracts local, young art lovers, enough to participate in the viewing experience of the four-day event, walking along with the more experienced connoisseurs of art. The high participation in the exchange of Buyers and Sellers of art within this pop-up market categorizes it as a Fair, and that too the largest that India has.
India Art Fair for the Stakeholders of Contemporary Art Exhibitions
Started in 2005, This collaborative event brings South-Asian cultural history closer to the global art market. Combining the vernacular traditions with modern masters and contemporary techniques, India Art Fair becomes a unique setting in the Delhi art scene. In 2008 the Fair drew more than 146,000 attendees. Emerging Contemporary Indian Artists become a part of the Fair by participating as viewers or being represented in the exhibition. The show holds individual cubicles for displaying artists and collaborates with Big brands like BMW, and Rado, to showcase a diversity of techniques in SouthEast Asia.
Over the years, the Fair has given a wall to many artists representing subjects that might not have access to an elite gathering of contemporary art. These artists have been reflecting identity and culture in their works.
Global Art Platform In India
Following in the tradition of international art fairs and other global platforms for art exhibition and sale, then Founder and Director of India Art Summit Sunil Gautam realised the need for a similar platform in India to respond to the global interest in Indian art. This realization led to the establishment of the inaugural India Art Summit (IAS) in 2008. Esteemed Indian artists, such as Anjolie Ela Menon, S H Raza, Krishen Khanna, and Keshav Malik, supported the event. Since its inception, it has occurred annually, except for 2010. In early 2011, Sunil Gautam sold his complete ownership stake in the event to three partners: Neha Kirpal (51%), Sandy Angus (35%), and Will Ramsay (14%), who were co-founders of the Hong Kong Art Fair. In the year 2009, IAF became one of the few places to display a Picasso in India and to distribute its experience to its audience. IAF as a business in the contemporary art scene of India holds a considerable stake in the global art market.
Attracting International Attention with India Art Fair
In September 2016, just before the 2017 edition of India Art Fair, Neha Kirpal sold her majority share in the event to MCH Group, the company behind the Art Basel franchise, retaining only a 10% stake to have a minor role in the Fair. At the same time, Will Ramsay also sold his stake to the new owners, MCH Group (60.3%), Sandy Angus (29.7%), and Neha Kirpal (10%). Subsequently, in 2019, MCH Group, a major player in the global art fair sector, divested its entire interest in India Art Fair (IAF) to Angus Montgomery Arts, making Sandy Angus the exclusive owner of the India Art Fair in New Delhi. Currently, the portfolio of Angus Montgomery Arts, chaired by Sandy Angus, encompasses Taipei Dangdai, India Art Fair, Sydney Contemporary, PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai, Art Central Hong Kong, Art Düsseldorf, Photo London, along with upcoming events like Art SG, Tokyo Gendai, and PHOTOFAIRS New York.
India Art Fair 2025 is Bigger than Before.
The upcoming fair has announced a record number of 118 exhibitors for its 16th edition with Jaya Asokan as the fair director for 2025. She has been heading it for the past 8 years, after taking over from Jagdip Jagpal in 2017.
In an Interview Jaya Asokan talking about the IAF says, “First, 2025 will see South Asian art continue its ascent on the global stage. With exhibitions increasingly representing South Asian artists at events like the Venice Biennale, there is a clear international appetite for diverse voices and narratives from the region. Second, cross-disciplinary collaborations like the blending of art, design, and technology are expected to gain traction. Third, there is a focus on younger artists and emerging markets, including tier-2 and tier-3 cities in India, who will play a crucial role in driving growth, as more collectors outside metropolises engage with contemporary art.”
The India Art Fair returns on February 6 2025 and stays around the 9th of the month, at the NSIC Exhibition Grounds in New Delhi. If you are in Delhi and a lover of art, IAF 2025 can be one of the art spaces you can interact with this year.
Feature Image Courtesy- Babra S.
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