Art summit draws hundreds to its galleries

NEW DELHI - Drawing hundreds of people from different walks of life, the third India Art Summit in Delhi has proved a huge hit. Into it second day Saturday, the summit galleries found art aficianados enjoying every minute of their visit.

The reason could be anything - investment, passion or plain curiosity, but the summit has succeeded in drawing a cross section of people to its premises at the capital’s Pragati Maidan exhibition ground.

The three-day celebration of art will conclude Sunday.

With 84 galleries from 20 countries participating, the art summit has grown in size over the past edition. As far as the international participation goes, the number of galleries has increased from 17 in 2010 to 34 this year.

Anusha Roy, a photographer at the summit, said she was amazed to the see such a big crowd.

“It was unbelievable! When I saw this serpentine queue, I thought there must be some other event going on. Then I realised that the crowd was for the summit. There were hundreds of them,” Roy told IANS.

Asha Patel, a home maker waiting at the ticket counter, said this was the first time she was coming to an art fair, and that all because of her daughter.

“My daughter is a good painter and wants to take it up as a full time profession. But my husband and I were not very sure about how that would be…we both have no idea about art. That’s why we are here, to learn and interact with artists and other professionals,” Patel said.

Rahul Jain, an artist from the city, was surprised by the kind of crowd at the event.

“It’s no longer restricted to a few intellectuals and artists. There are people from all walks of life coming to the summit. They are buying the (Rs.200) ticket and spending time there, looking around and talking to the curators. For an artist, this kind of interest is very encouraging,” Jain told IANS.

A lot of students attended the fair too.

Yamini of the Delhi Art Gallery, which is a participant at the summit, said: “The response has been very good. There have been a number of visitors, including college students and school children”.

There were also many who came to the summit for investment purpose.

“I am an art collector so I couldn’t have missed the art summit. It’s good to see how it has grown and become a major event in the region. I hope to pick up a few pieces at the end of the summit,” Rashi Mehra, a Delhi resident, said.