Year gone by, an ‘event’ful one for Indian art - II

An interesting news report from news agency PTI describes how it was a rather mixed albeit fulfilling year for Indian art. Here are some of the key highlights from the year just gone by:

• The year witnessed passing away of a few giants like Husain, Sabavala, Sohan Qadri and Biren De. On the positive side, a new crop of artists from India showed across the world; Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art hosted "Indian Highway IV" and is traveling to Europe, South America and Asia. The Paris Centre Pompidou showed "Paris Delhi Bombay", between May and September.
  
  
• The year began with the 3rd India Art Summit, a three-day event that saw drama when M F Husain's works were installed then brought down and subsequently remounted with security. A bigger edition with new partners is scheduled in 2012.
  
  
• Chennai hosted its first international art fair in the month of March. 'Art Chennai' featured over 2000 works by contemporary artists spread over 18 sites in the city. The India Art Collective- an Internet-based art fair- was launched in November.
  
  
• Leading names from the art world paid a visit to India; Swiss curator Hans Obrist interviewed 25 intellectuals back-to-back in an eight-hour marathon organized by Khoj.
  
  
• British-Indian artist Anish Kapoor's first retrospective in India at National Gallery of Modern Art's new wing here and Mehboob studio in Mumbai showcased three decades of his work.