How the art ecosystem opens up a wide range of opportunities beyond creation of artworks
In this photo essay, we showcase more highlights from Chennai’s Contemporary Now arts festival, along with director insights.
PhotoSparks, a weekly feature on YourStory, showcases the vibrant spirit of creativity and innovation through photographs. Over the past decade, the platform has highlighted various events, including an art festival, a cartoon gallery, a world music festival, a telecom expo, a millets fair, a climate change expo, a wildlife conference, a startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and a jazz festival.
The latest edition of the art festival, titled Contemporary Now, recently concluded at 10 venues in Chennai, featuring a diverse lineup of artists such as Garima Gupta, Vishwa Shroff, Parag Tandel, Ayesha Sultana, Julien Segard, Chanakya School, Pushpakanthan Pakkiyarajah, Sakshi Gupta, Moumita Das, and more.
Ashvin Rajagopalan and Priyanjoli Basu, the directors of Contemporary Now, discussed the evolving landscape of the art ecosystem and the emerging opportunities it presents. According to Rajagopalan, the market is becoming more professionalised, with artists creating increasingly complex artworks. This progress necessitates the development of sales teams, social media marketing strategies, and public relations efforts to support these artists.
Interestingly, Rajagopalan also pointed out that similar models of support can be found outside India, such as foundations and corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects. However, in India, the art scene currently lacks such comprehensive institutional backing. This absence of structured support is a relatively recent development, as compared to other countries where the arts receive more institutional assistance.
Written by urgent.news from YourStory's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
