India Art Fair 2012

 

Announcement of India Art Fair, 4TH Edition
25-29 January 2012 in New Delhi

New Delhi, 29 September 2011: Now in its 4th edition, India Art Fair (formerly India Art Summit) is set to take place in New Delhi from 25-29 January 2012. Established in 2008 as the country’s first international art fair, India Art Fair has received 178,000 visitors over itsfirst 3 editions.

The highly successful 3rd edition in 2011 included 84 exhibiting galleries from 20 countries, displaying a diverse range of renowned and emerging artists. With over 100,000 visitors over 4 days and a record number of new collectors (30-40%), the 3rd edition firmly established India Art Fair as the region’s leading platform for modern and contemporary art, and demonstrated the vast potential of the Indian art market.

With one of the world’s fastest growing economies and HNWI (high net-worth individual) populations, and an expanding collector base, India is increasingly becoming an important centre for the global art market.  With an annual growth rate of almost 300% and an expanding global participation in its initial years, India Art Fair has been successful in repeatedly bringing art into the focus of mainstream society in India, and contributing to the long term development of the Indian art scene.

This year, the rising interest from foreign galleries in India Art Fair has also been fuelled by the Government of India’s new exemption of import duties on art for exhibition purposes. It is expected that approximately 100 galleries from 30 countries will participate in the 4th edition of the art fair, which will be presented in a dynamic new space in the capital city of New Delhi.

Alongside the art fair, next year’s programme will include the flagship Speakers’ Forum, Video Lounge, Art Projects, the Merchandise and Book Store, and a series of Collateral Events around the city of New Delhi. The Collectors’ Circle is a new initiative launched this year aimed at increasing awareness and access to art amongst young collectors. This will be a year-round membership based initiative that will provide information about art events including  talks, conferences, workshops and networking events with top individual and institutional collectors spread across the  country, and global art centres including London, New York, Hong Kong, Dubai and Colombo.  

The 4th edition of India Art Fair will continue under the same management as its previous 3 years, led by Founder and Fair Director Ms. Neha Kirpal, who has steered the growth and development of the art fair since its inception. This year, Ms. Kirpal brings on two new strategic partners as co-owners, Mr. Will Ramsay and Mr. Sandy Angus, who will bring in their global expertise in exhibitions and events.  Mr. Ramsay is Founder of Ramsay Fairs, PULSE Art Fairs, and Affordable Art Fairs; he runs art fairs in 8 countries on 4 continents.  Mr. Angus is Chairman of Montgomery Worldwide.  Mr. Ramsay and Mr. Angus are also co-founders of Art HK, the Hong Kong International Art Fair.

Ms. Kirpal describes the upcoming edition of India Art Fair as “an important milestone for the art fair; which has witnessed exceptional growth and development in a short period of time. The 4th edition brings us closer to our goal of developing a truly world class fair, facilitating international exchange and trade, and contributing to the growth of a vibrant art scene in the Indian sub-continent”.

To see highlights of the 3rd edition, and what is in store for India Art Fair in 2012
 please view a short video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX0inxnOMGE.