Encouraging young art

Getting national and international recognition in any creative field is no cakewalk. Awards and accredits play a very important role for the growth of an aspiring artiste in any field. Art is no different. Initially, it was just the government bodies providing cash awards to upcoming artists, but in the recent past, there has been a rise in the number of autonomous bodies presenting young artist awards offering mentorship, solo shows and residency programmes matching. The perks of these awards have given many budding artists a scope for international exposure.

CIMA awards, Habitat Photosphere, Ojas Art awards and Glenfiddich’s Emerging Artist of the Year award are a few awards that the young talent looks forward to and plans to participate. “We are creating a new platform for all artists living across India, and especially to encourage artists from the tier-two cities. Many smaller artists remain relatively unknown and unrecognised because of a dearth of platforms in our country,” says Alka Pande, curator and artistic director, Habitat Photosphere and adds, “In India there was lack of criticality in the domain of art, as it did not receive adequate institutional and infrastructural support. So it was predominantly market driven. Neutral entities like ours which already functioned as an art centre, understand the need of the hour and focus on promoting young art.”

“The aim is to build relationship and help the upcoming artists achieve their true potentials,” shares Anubhav Nath, who holds an yearly award promoting traditional and tribal art called Ojas Art awards at Jaipur Literature Festival.

Anubhav adds, “We not only give young artists a platform but also help them showcase their work at international platform. The last year’s winner showcased his works in a Dallas-based museum. It was not a part of the awards but when we got to know that the museum was looking for a tribal artist, we shared his portfolio and it got selected. The point is the process does not stop with the announcement of the winners. It is just the beginning. Today, most emerging artist awards are focusing on providing the maximum exposure to their winners.”

Such awards aimed at promoting budding artists currently provide more opportunities in contrast to what they used to 10 years ago, as they support artistic work that critically engages artists with the audiences shares Rajeev Dhawan, managing director, Art DistrictXIII, the host of Glenfiddich’s ‘Emerging Artist of the Year’. He says, “These awards encourage creative collaborations between art and science. They provide a platform for the artist to have a distinct approach towards understanding and communicating ideas that can illuminate and challenge perceptions within society. Ten years ago institutions did not focus on the invaluable role that art plays in engaging public, and how artists can utilise a platform to engage themselves with the society.”

Agreeing with Rajeev, Alka says art, today, is being looked upon as ‘soft power’. “India has been slow to catch up but now we are realising that art has the power to sensitise society. In context of photography, it has always been a part of Eurocentric and American art discourse — look at how expensive Richard Prince works are, but in India, we are only now realising its potential. Hence, today awards such as Photosphere and others are recognising that it is important to promote art and artists, to motivate them to produce quality work, to take them out of the confines of a typical commercial space and allow their practice room for experimentation and introspection.”

One of the added advantages these independent awards provide is mentorship and residency programmes along with a solo gallery exhibition in the city. “Residency programmes bring together diverse visual artforms and provide a time for reflection, research, presentation and production. They also allow an individual to explore his/her practice within another community meeting new people, using new materials, and experiencing life in a new location. Art residencies emphasise the importance of meaningful and multi-layered cultural exchange and immersion into another culture,” shares photographer Monica Tiwari, winner of Habitat Photosphere 2016 and adds, “For any artist finding the right mentor is very important as it gives a deep insight on the subject, medium and its outlook.”

India still lacks corporate sponsorship, points out Monica. “In the last few years, many awards that motivate and hone skills of budding artists have been launched, and this trend is only to grow. However, still there is lack of awareness among corporates and financial sponsors about how this can go a long way in developing a holistic society. More corporates and sponsors should come together in such efforts for young artists to learn and grow.”

Agreeing with the sentiment, Alka says, “Lack of philanthropy in art is another reason why India is still lacking behind when compared to the international artist awards. Philanthropy is still limited to areas such as education and health. There is no serious large-scale foundation promoting arts and that needs to change. Plus, the coteries surrounding art industry need to break up so that new voices, new artists, new curators can come up.”

Art R&D is another area that is neglected in India because of the lack of monetary support. Rajeev says, “Art awards can support the R&D of new project ideas or ways of working, investigating and experimenting with new methods of engagement through the arts. The money from such awards also help in funding all or parts of the final production costs of the new work.”