Art exhibitions in the city have become popular spots for hobnobbing, but no one is interested in buying art there
Lucknowites take great pride in the thriving arts and culture scene in the city. Art exhibitions by local painters and sculptors are a regular feature on the city’s social calendar. But while everyone wants to be seen at these events, no one wants to buy art from them, rue local artists.
`THE AVERAGE SALE OF ART WORKS IS NOT EVEN ONE PER EXHIBITION’
Laljeet Aheer, Chairman, State Lalit Kala Akademi at Lal Baradari, says the ratio of exhibitions organised to art works sold is dismally poor. “On an average, if 30 exhibitions happen at State Lalit Kala Akademi in Lucknow every year, not even 10 paintings are sold through them,” he says, adding, “I am a sculptor too, and have been in this field for 30 years, but nothing has changed as far people’s attitude towards art goes. People come to exhibitions to meet each other, see the work, but don’t want to buy them.”
A fact corroborated by every single person related to the field.”The average sale of art works is not even one per exhibition!” says Bhupendra Asthana, an artist who now organises exhibitions in Lucknow for other artists. “People in Lucknow will spend lakhs in buying a painting from Delhi, but will not spend half of that money in buying a work from Lucknow, even though it might be better,” adds Asthana.
`IN UP PEOPLE CONSIDER ART AS SOMETHING TO BE GIFTED’
Art curators and artists in Lucknow try to explain the reason for the poor sales of art works at exhibitions. Rajendra Prasad, Head of the Painting Department at the Arts College, Lucknow, feels city folk do not quite value art in the way that they should. “Also, I have noticed that people prefer to purchase paintings from exhibitions in Delhi or Mumbai, but underestimate the talent of local artists, who get a good response if they display their works outside UP,” he says.
“In UP people consider art as something to be gifted, they don’t understand that it’s the passion of an artist that should be valued ,” rues Anurag Didwania, director of Kala Srot Art Gallery and Art Centre that was recently launched in the city , and adds, “I know private art galleries in the city have had to close down eventually, due to losses. But I still took the risk of starting one of my own in Lucknow. We have bookings for exhibitions in coming months and until now we have had two painting exhibitions, but not a single painting was sold from them, even though they received due appreciation from visitors.”
`IF AN ARTIST DEVOTES A MONTH’S TIME IN MAKING A PAINTING, IS THAT JUST WORTH `5,000?’
“Even the paintings that are sold at exhibitions are the ones that are priced very low,” points out Prasad, “mostly in the range of `5,000-`10,000. Sometimes, a client wants a portrait of his done, or an interior decorator places an order for 20 landscapes.So that has become the source of income for artists in the city .”
A very discouraging trend for artists, feels Praveen Sharma, program coordinator at Lalit Kala Akademi Regional Centre, located in Aliganj. Sharma says, “If an artist devotes a month’s time in making a painting, he is giving everything to it – from time to emotion to experience.Is that just worth `5,000?” He also adds that most of the purchases from exhibitions are by corporate houses and industrialists. “Otherwise, Lucknow just does not have a market for art at all. In fact, all of UP is the same. That is why private galleries here cannot sustain themselves and have to shut down; even the Regional Centre runs on funding by the central government. Who can run a centre like this on a rent of `3,000 per exhibition? It’s impossible,” he states.
`BAAT KIYA, PAINTINGS DEKHI AUR CHALTE BANE’
But if no one is intersted in buying art in Lucknow, why are the inaugurations of these exhibitions so well-attended? “For many it has become a spot to socialize and get clicked,” says Bhupendra Asthana, and adds, “On the inaugural day, an exhibition witnesses a large gathering but from the second day , you will notice very few people coming in for it. There were instances when artists coming from other states had to wind up the exhibition before the scheduled closing day , owing to low turnout.”
Agrees Prasad and shares, “People come in full strength on the first day of the exhibition, it is like a fun gathering for them, ki baat kiya, paintings dekhi aur chalte bane.People need to look beyond that, art needs appreciation and the interest of people.”
`THERE IS NO TRUST BETWEEN AN ARTIST AND BUYER HERE’
But not everybody feels that Lucknow lacks an eye for art. Alok Kumar, a renowned painter from the city , says the quality of work displayed at local exhibitions is also to be blamed for the poor response. “We are unable to develop the taste for quality work among people here. Most of the exhibitions are by amateur artists, and people get to see only copied or low quality work, so why will a buyer want to invest money in such art? The established artists prefer to exhibit their works outside UP , as there is no trust between an artist and buyer here. I have done 40 exhibitions in these 25 years, and out of them only five were in Lucknow. The others were in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Bangalore, Kolkata and the foreign countries,” he shares.
Not many artists are as lucky as Alok Kumar. Sudheer Sharma, a sculptor who passed out of the Arts College in 1993 rues, “I could not continue my passion for art, and had to take up a government job to run my livelihood. I have done 6-7 exhibitions in the city but not a single work was sold. Then I started taking orders to make sculptures for hotels, political parties etc. I am getting decentlly paid for that.”
`NEED TO CREATE A MARKET FOR ART’
Jayant Krishna, who is a frequent guest at art exhibitions in the city , says there needs to be greater awareness created about art as an investment. “I have bought around 12 paintings in the last five years from exhibitions in the city, and believe we have ample potential here; we just need to create a market for it.”
Prof Rakesh Chandra, another regular at art soirees echoes Krishna’s opinion. “We need to develop the understanding of art as an investment, which over the years cities like Mumbai and Baroda have successfully developed. I believe government, banks and private firms should come forward to initiate the culture of buying art work from art galleries in the city,” he says.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / Renu Singh, TNN / September 09th, 2014
