BENGALURU: Founder of osianama.com, a knowledge base for Indian art, cinema and cultural heritage, Neville Tuli says Bengaluru being the IT capital of the country, should give rise to more opportunities to artistes to experiment. “In south India, people have a deeper attachment towards digital art and people are struggling to find a balance between traditional and digital arts. But Bengaluru can definitely take the lead in creating a national movement and changing the mindset of people. Art and culture in India is not a privilege or a way to live life,” he explains.
Tuli was present at the event, ‘Youth, Women and Historic Vehicles Movement’ held recently in the city. He says such events help create awareness and appreciation for art and vintage cars among the people, but such events should be more regular, considering the size of the country.
Tuli insists people should their mindset about cash economy. At the auction of Vintage & Classic Automobiles held last month, he observed that people still hold on to the same system of this sector. “When I started 25 years ago, I have been trying to break this mindset. Everyone wants to pay in cash and deal in the black economy. The first rule should be transparency. Unless you do not share the value, you cannot create a great market that could lead to more people appreciating and being sensible towards art and culture,” he says. India has to learn to respect its history and should change the way history is communicated to people. “That’s what Osianama is trying to do. We are trying to create a knowledge base for Indian art, cinema and cultural heritage free for all citizens so that they can get basic information of arts, photographs or even vintage cars that they are seeking,” he says.
Tuli established Osian’s in 2000 as India’s first art auction house and archive after completing the seminal arts publication, The Flamed Mosaic: Indian Contemporary Painting, on the history of Indian Modern & Contemporary Painting. Osian’s also launched Asia’s first Historical Vehicles Division as part of its auction house in October 2018. In January 2019, Neville Tuli launched the Osianama Research Center, Archive, Library & Sanctuary so as to separate his non-profit making learning activities from business after 25 years of dedicated work.