Unseasonal rains drenched the city of Delhi on the eve of the India Art Fair 2024. As water dripped from the summer tent, nervous gallerists were quick to cover artworks in plastic and continue installing. Work slowed down and events were cancelled, but some exhibitions opened even as parts of the city were flooded. This included 28° North and Parallel Weathers at Khoj Studios that positioned artists as “weather keepers”. That it rained out of turn during an exhibition confronting climate realities, set the tone for the week ahead. Delhi has been experiencing the worst smog in years with quite a few aeroplanes diverted to other airports due to poor visibility. Some of these planes momentarily displaced art fair guests as well. Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in Saket opened photographer Raghu Rai’s A Thousand Lives on the same rainy evening, focusing on his photographs from the pre-digital phase. Images of the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa sat alongside those of Nehru and India’s rise into an independent nation.

The rains thankfully stopped and matured into a cold but largely smog-free opening day, where gallerists were quick to make record sales. The fair was dotted with significant works by emerging and returning artists including Monika Correa at Jhaveri Contemporary, who will be included in Adriano Pedrosa’s upcoming Venice Biennale titled Foreigners  Everywhere and sculptures by Kamruzzaman Shadhin from the Gidree Bawlee Foundation for the Arts in Thakurgaon, Bangladesh. While Correa’s monochrome triptych, Banyan Tree (2023), is a retake on a work from 1983, Shadhin’s brass and jute sculptures mimic bark, root and post-harvest organic waste. At Experimenter’s booth, Afrah Shafiq presented the game The Bride who could not stop crying from her debut solo currently ongoing at the gallery in Kolkata. To have audiences play a game in the middle of an art fair booth with headphones on, slowed down the fast-paced movement of collectors and the public. It signals how digital engagements and the presence of new media, and interactive works ought to increase in South Asian fair contexts. Chatterjee and Lal reintroduced veteran artist DLN Reddy to the fair, with a delicate, untitled sculpture kneeling on a pedestal. Other artists gaining significant attention include Areez Katki at Tarq; Faiza Hasan at Gallery SKE; Utkarsh Makwana at Akara Contemporary, Ujjal Dey at Emami Art and Shailesh BR at Vadehra Art Gallery. Returning international galleries neugerriemschneider and Galeria Continua are rumoured to have placed key works from international artists such as Ai Weiwei and Eva Jospin, but the latter also placed works by their Indian artists such as Nikhil Chopra.

At the grounds of a fair, a not-so-impressive (largely kitschy) selection of outdoor projects were offset by Gigi Scaria’s Elevator from the subcontinent, making a return after the 2011 India Pavilion at Venice. Long lines queued for two minutes of an experience where Scaria’s elevator produced movements through mild vibrations and image panels scrolling down. We are led into images of homes, hostels, basements and offices from the subcontinent. Against this backdrop, Sajan Mani invoked the body of Gulikan Theyyam, a form of Shiva worship and religious folk dance in Kerala, in his powerful performance that in a rare instance worked well in the fair context. Taking cues and movements from ritualistic dances performed by lower caste communities, Mani derived from Dravidian traditions, where their bodies momentarily transform into those of Gods challenging Brahmanical hegemonies and violence.

Easily the best year so far for the institutional section, the fair had two strong presentations from IAF’s Artist-in-residence programme with Mayuri Chari and Merci Maku, and booths by 1 Shanti Road, Bangalore and Britto Arts Trust, Dhaka. Chari meticulously celebrates the diversity of women’s bodies by stitching together representations of real bodies onto cloth, to move away from conventions and expectations stemming from a patriarchal world. Maku, on the other hand, hails from the Naga community settled in Manipur, a region that has recently seen unprecedented ethnic violence. He uses the Karap, a hanging structure used in kitchens to hold food and other precious belongings, to address forms and methods of preservation in times of erasure. His structure preserves signs, language, stories and techniques intrinsic to his community. Two decades old, 1, Shanti Road in Bangalore continued to present its tree-like framework that adapts to the artist’s needs with a range of intergenerational artists, demonstrating its belief in radical hospitality and care in residency models.

Alongside the fair a series of exhibitions as part of IAF’s Parallel programme opened across town. Amongst these is Vikrant Bhise’s landmark, expansive exhibition Sense and Sensibilities: A Reflective Realisation curated by historian Dr. Y.S. Alone at Anant Art Gallery, Noida that considers centuries of Dalit struggles, rights, and generative ideas of freedom that Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar propagated. Also showing is Patta Bandha: The Art of Indian Ikat curated by Mayank Mansingh Kaul at the Crafts Museum in collaboration with the Devi Art Foundation. The exhibition, the third in a series, presents a nuanced study of Ikat fabrics from across the country including one by artist Sudam Guin from Cuttack, Odisha that lists the 20-point economic programme detailing schemes relating to health, employment generation, and poverty alleviation, introduced in 1975 as part of the Union government's Five-Year Plan. Arthshila in Okhla hosts the second edition of the Indian Ceramics Triennale titled Common Ground with over 60 artists. Birender Yadav presented a series of delicate sculptures mimicking tools and belongings of brick kiln workers as evidence, and a memorial to their skills. There is a saying in the brick kilns of the north that loosely translates to “a collar bone must break for a stick to balance well”. Yadav depicts this by sculpting a long stick-line bone. Pots by Hayley Coulthard and Rona Rubuntja from the Hermannsburg Potters stand out. Hailing from Western Aranda (Australian Aboriginal) and using clay from the region, these handmade pots are painted to narrate the collective and personal histories of their distinct country. 

As the fair came to a close, I couldn't help but think about the possible forms of inclusive hospitality, accessibility and outreach it may provide to its myriad, diverse audiences. Day three and four, open to the public saw tickets sold out early in the afternoon and the fair gates closed to respect the laws of public gathering and safety, evident through the large crowds that stood behind barricades and were a testament to the colossal art landscape of the country. Whilst the art fair becomes increasingly digital and pivotal with each iteration, the question of accessibility rings out heavily to the women-led fair team and is vital now more than ever to provide an equitable experience.

The 15th edition of India Art Fair, the leading platform showcasing contemporary and modern art from India and South Asia will take place from February 1-4, 2024 in New Delhi. Click here to explore STIR’s (Strategic Media Partner with IAF 2024) highlights from the event.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position of STIR or its Editors.)