Friday, November 18, 2011

An online art fair in India to suit all budgets

A group of art-minded investors is trying to draw some portion of the rising wealth in India toward the art market, via India Art Collective, an Internet-based art fair, reports Shane Ferro of Artinfo.

While many of the country's newly wealthy are already comfortable with technology, they may not be that comfortable or conversant with the mores of the established art world, thus making the relative anonymity and transparency of the Internet model a way to start to grow art collecting base.

The fair boasts 41 galleries, around 200 artists, and more than 800 works of art, including those by revered artists such as S.H. Raza and M.F. Husain, apart from contemporary Indian superstars like Anish Kapoor and Anita Dube. The works will be on offer from November 19 until 26 on the IAC website.

While many other online fairs have emerged less than successful, ARTINFO described why this one just might do well. According to a co-founder/ director of the fair, Sapna Kar, the whole event is based on the reach and simplicity of the Internet.

That idea is already working well for Saffronart, launched by Minal and Dinesh Vazirani over a decade ago, now among the world's most successful Web-based auction houses. Its business model has been so successful that it was used as a case study by the Harvard Business School.

The new fair has been geared towards an online platform similar to the VIP Art Fair in New York that took place earlier this year, trying to modify them a bit. The IAC is looking to change things up. Instead of having to enter in contact with an art gallery by hone to check the prices, they will be displayed on the site. This may prompt buyers on a limited budget.

The fair resembles three exhibition halls. The first one features work below $12,000. The second features those between $12,000 and $45,000, and the last one includes works above $45,000. This will enable people to browse based on the budget they have.

No comments:

Post a Comment