‘More collectors buying in a calculated and well-researched manner’’

Chairman of Montgomery Worldwide, a leading global exhibitions company, Sandy Angusrecently acquired a stake in India Art Fair, along with Will Ramsay. Following are the observations he made about Indian art market, artists and collectors in an interview with Anindita Ghose of The Mint:

• The Indian art market is young and thriving. There’s an increase in awareness in the art sector in ways that one would not have thought possible 10 years ago.When we started with Hong Kong, we didn’t think we’d be able to attract the top international galleries or collectors. And getting the balance right between Asian and international galleries was the difficult part.
  
  
• The key to running a successful art fair is its positioning not only in the international market but also domestically—in terms of the quality of galleries one hopes to attract. To a lesser extent, it’s also about building collector bases, and encouraging corporate houses, museums and art foundations to step in.
  
  
• Indian collectors first and foremost buy Indian art, before buying international contemporary art, so it’s important not to lose focus. It’s important to think local. Many of them are consulting curators and art advisories. It means that their buying isn’t haphazard—it’s very well-researched and calculated. While the bottom line for buying art should be intuitive, these are all good signs for an emerging art market.
  
  
• In the global context, there’s a major art fair every month now—or in some cases, more than one—and collectors don’t want to be going from show to show looking at what they’ve just seen. So each fair has to be unique and it can really be unique only in the way it attracts local galleries.
  
  
• Whatever exhibitions you’re involved in, whether it’s the mining industry or oil and gas, you have to be immersed in the industry. Nowhere is that more true than the art world. We were fortunate to partner with Neha, who already has her networks in place.