An Indian painting exhibition in Jakarta

It has been for centuries and more that India and Indonesia have shared close cultural ties through trade, travel and exchange of ideas. A new group in Jakarta keeps the tradition going and continues this dialogue. It showcases a selection of emerging artists from India.

The Indian Artists Network has conceptualized and curated the 11th Indian Painting Exhibition that has just opened at the National Gallery. It continues till the first week of July. The aim is to give people in the capital city of Indonesia an opportunity to see works by some talented and award-winning artists.

Elaborating on the show and the thought process behind it, the exhibition curator and the network founder, Ajit Vahadane, has been quoted as saying, “The Artists Network had a meeting six year ago at Mumbai’s Jehangir Art Gallery, where it was decided to launch an organization to exhibit artworks outside of India. At the time I was working in Jakarta, so I thought it would be a good place to start with.”

Many shows are held within the country, but emerging artists don’t always get a chance to showcase their talent abroad. Explaining the purpose of such an event, an introductory note on the Indian Artists Network site states, “India is shining brightly around the world in many walks of life. The whole world now has very high expectations from the country and is eagerly watching what India can offer and what really comes out of its talented people.

“Art from the country is no exception to this. Visiting any art venue abroad, we should ideally come often come across works of our talented artists. That’s the only single motive behind holding these exhibits. We want highly creative Indian artists to feature in a big way in the exhibitions abroad. For this we identify the best of talent.”