India Art Fair director Jaya Asokan: To show collectible design seemed like a natural progression

India Art Fair curtain raiser at The Quorum, Gurgaon.

Collectible design is easily one of the biggest stories at the 15th India Art Fair (IAF) in New Delhi from February 1-4. To be sure, there will be dozens of art galleries and museums exhibiting this year as usual. Apple has reprised its partnership, with digital art workshops for visitors at the fair. And there are outdoor projects to look forward to, starting with the "15th India Art Fair carpet" by graffiti and mural artist Siddharth Gohil aka Khatra and facade made by the always-fun artist-duo Thukral and Tagra - the flex facade will be repurposed to make bags after the art fair.

But this is the first time - since the art fair began in 2008 - that the IAF will have a design segment, with participants like Karishma Swali & Chanakya School of Craft, Gunjan Gupta, Atelier Ashiesh Shah and the Carpenters Workshop Gallery.

Speaking at The Quorum Gurgaon ahead of the IAF, India Art Fair director Jaya Asokan said: "There's really a blurring of boundaries between creative disciplines; we see so much interaction between artists and creatives of all kinds. So, to show collectible design seemed like a natural progression."

An audio interview with Asokan as well as excerpts from her discussion with a panel comprising artist Jagannath Panda and gallerist Parul Vadera at The Quorum Gurgaon:

What's new at India Art Fair this year?

We have some great outdoor projects this year; they are quite conceptual. We have a digital project by Jean Gerrard (Western Flag NFT) which is a comment on oil consumption in the US. Then we have a kinetic sculpture by Sajid Wajid Sheikh (Walls have ears too).

We try and be as sustainable as possible. Now fairs aren't always as sustainable as events, but we reuse walls, we reuse floors, we had zero landfill waste last February. Flex is not the most sustainable material, but what we try to do with our facade is we try to repurpose it every year - so, two years ago, we gave it to Goonj to make roofs for homeless shelters. And this year, Thukral & Tagra are designing the facade, and after it comes off, it's going to this Dalit-run studio called Chamar Studio in Mumbai and they are going to make bags out of them and repurpose them, and the proceeds from the bags will go to fund pollinators or young artist initiatives.

We have fantastic talks lined up; we have some of the leading international collectors and museum heads coming to the fair this year.

And design; it's been a personal passion for me. I've been very keen to do this. There's really a blurring of boundaries between creative disciplines; we see so much interaction between artists and creatives of all kinds. So to show collectible design seemed like a natural progression.

What's interesting about design in our country is that it stands on the shoulders of thousands of years of craft. So for us (at IAF), it's a very natural segway to move into that space. You'll find that most of the people participating in the design section use craft in their processes. We are starting off with collectible design... We have the world's leading gallery in design called Carpenters Workshop, so you get to see international design as well as regional talent

We've also shown the living traditions at the fair for many years now. In fact our last facade was done by the Vayeda brothers (Warli artists Mayur and Tushar Vayeda) - just to show the public that this is as important as the contemporary art that you are seeing in the tents.

India Art Fair celebrates its 15th edition in 2024. The past 15 years have been hugely successful for South Asian art and culture on the global stage, and we are taking our 15th anniversary as an opportunity to celebrate all the artists, creatives and culture makers who have been influential in shaping India Art Fair and South Asian culture. The 2024 fair will be the largest to date, with more than a hundred galleries, institutions and design studios showing at the fair. Spanning cutting-edge contemporary art and design, pieces of South Asian living traditions and modern masterpieces, a brand new design section, and a studio space presenting the fair's digital artists-in-residence programme and other digital projects.

Could you tell us about the introductory design section in the India Art Fair this year?

The 2024 fair will see its first design section introduced to encourage greater crosspollination among creative field and to expand its offerings to collectors. The section will see participation from pioneering studios, specialising in collectible, unique and handmade design from South Asia and beyond, including Vikram Goyal, Atelier Ashiesh Shah, de Gournay, Studio Renn, Gunjan Gupta and Karishma Swali and Chanakya School of Craft as well as Rooshad Shroff.

The fair is also a place where commerce and art intersect. What's your read of art as an investment in India?

India remains the world's fifth largest economy, and recently overtook Hong Kong to become the world's fourth largest stock market. The art market has continued to grow steadily in parallel with total sales valued at USD 144 million in 2023, up from USD 106 million in 2020-21. Among many records in 2023, Amrita Sher-Gil's The Storyteller achieved the record price for an Indian artist, sold at Rs 61.8 crore. Increasing collaboration among commercial galleries, patrons and institutions has helped to bolster local art sales.

Opening of new arts spaces like the NMACC (Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre) in Mumbai and soon to be open Hampi Art Lab in Karnataka are signs of a healthy and fast-developing art landscape. We are seeing a mutual and symbiotic relationship between the market and the art scene. Just as a strong economy is supporting the art market, the thriving art and culture centre is feeding back into creating value for other parts of the economy.

Your advice to young and first-time art collectors?

To train your eye in terms of what you like, not what the trend is, but what appeals to you. Your first reaction (to art) has to be emotional and personal. As a precursor to the fair, I would say first visit the galleries in your city. There are lots of them and they have year-round programming. It's a great way to get into it. Most of the galleries are on Instagram now, and so are the artists - which (repository) never existed befors. So that's a way to hone your eye a little bit in terms of what you are looking for. Then when you come to the fair, if you don't want to walk around on your own, we do have art tours. Almost 4-5 a day - some of them are theme based, but we always have one that's a 101 of the fair. You don't have to engage (with the artists and galleriests) but if you start that conversation - and the relationship with the gallerist is also important, because they can guide you in terms of what you're looking at in terms of price points, aesthetics.

Could you tell us about "forwardism in action"?

The fair is celebrating eight years of creative partnership with BMW India, and three years of the future is born of art commission and vision to support a young Indian artist. In the past two editions, the winning artists have created wraps for the BMW electric iX and i7 cars. In this edition, the winner Sashikanth Thavudoz has been commissioned to create an immersive installation around the BMW i7 on the theme of forwardism.

Sashikanth Thavudoz's Symphony of Nature: The Harmonic Forest is a multisensory experience that interprets his view of progress and responsibility.

In addition to this, there will be performances, conceptualised and created by Crow. This short live performance contemplates the confluence of nature, humanity and technology. While in constant flux, these elements play off each other, striving for balance and working in unison to build a vision of our future.