Report by Santanu Ganguly, New Delhi: India Art Fair, the country’s single largest modern and contemporary art fair, is delighted to announce its 5th edition, taking place from 31 January – 3 February 2013 including a VIP Preview on 31 January at NSIC Exhibition Grounds in New Delhi.

Founded in 2008, India Art Fair (formerly India Art Summit) is widely recognized as the country’s premier art fair, and as being representative of the country’s promising art market. Since its inception, the fair has sought to provide a relevant and sustainable platform for the development of the Indian art scene including providing infrastructure, access and transparency, contributing to the overall growth of the domestic market and helping put India on the global map for art.

Established in 2008 at the beginning of a global economic down turn, the art fair has sustained an impressive 3-fold growth rate in terms of scale, footfalls, and participation amidst a challenging economic environment. 260,000 visitors from 67 cities around the world, over 4 years, made India Art Fair one of the world’s most attended art fairs. International participation grew from 3 foreign galleries in 2008 to 44 in 2012, while the total number of exhibitors grew from 34 to 91. The total size of the fair has increased from 1500 sq meters in 2008 to 20,000 sq meters in the upcoming edition. The fair’s continued growth has been representative of key trends in the development of the overall Indian art scene including an increased international interest in India, with international galleries taking a long term view of educating and cultivating interest amongst Indian collectors. Further, the art fair’s increasing regional participation created access for a greater number of artists, galleries and collectors from around the country, and contributed to the rising interest in multiple regional art scenes within India.

2012 marked a significant turning point with the fair drawing in international partners, Sandy Angus and Will Ramsay, who collectively own 22 art fairs in key markets around the world including the Hong Kong International Art Fair. The fair also moved out of the state run Pragati Maidan into a custom built exhibition tent built up by international art fair production consultants 20:20 Events, and designed by highly regarded Indian space designer Sumant Jayakrishnan.

India Art Fair is considered to be the single largest destination for art in the region, and its extensive VIP programme has drawn reputed private and institutional collectors from India and all over the world including the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, the Samdani Art Foundation, (Bangladesh), Outset India, Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC, Abu Dhabi), Tate, Guggenheim, New Museum, San Jose Museum of Art, Pompidou Centre, Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and the Singapore Art Museum amongst others.

The forthcoming 5th edition will showcase approximately 100 galleries displaying over 1000 established and emerging artists. The fair will feature a number of leading galleries from around the world, in particular from Asia. The fair will also see a larger and broader representation of Indian art, with Indian galleries taking up larger spaces and many galleries exhibiting booths in both the General Exhibition section and Solo Projects this year. The 5th edition will include a highly tailored VIP programme for collectors and museums attending from around the world and daily business hours, which were introduced to the fair schedule last year, will be continued as a result of positive exhibitor feedback. The expanded Solo Projects will be an opportunity to see in-depth individual presentations of a diverse set of artists.

This edition of India Art Fair will also unveil exciting curated art projects in public spaces on the fair’s premises and around the city of Delhi. As it has in previous years, the fair will be held for 4 days including a VIP preview (by invitation only) on 31 January, followed by 3 public days from 1-3 February. Visitors will also have access to the Speakers’ Forum, curated walks, a video lounge, book launches and an art book store. For more information on visiting India Art Fair, please visit  www.indiaartfair.in.

Neha Kirpal, founder and co-owner of India Art Fair said “This year we have been focused on sustaining scale, as well as the quality of the art being shown at the fair. We have seen a significant increase in interest from Asia, which includes galleries, museums, and individual collectors from China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore; this is a first for India and a development we feel will be an important contributor to the global market for Indian art. Collectors can also look forward to the strongest presentation of South Asian art shown to date at the fair, particularly with Indian galleries showing some of their best works of both modern and contemporary artists.”

Sandy Angus, co-owner of India Art Fair said “We are very committed to India and truly believe in its potential as one of the most promising emerging art markets in the world. We feel our international network which includes new art fairs launching next year in Shanghai, Istanbul and London, as well as initiatives in Latin America, will also help support India Art Fair’s international outreach.”