Taking art from East to West
BENGALURU: A strong motivation to provide artists a platform to showcase their work, and to help them connect with art seekers is what prompted Avik Bandyopadhyay to co-found Mayinart. This Singapore-based startup sources artworks from emerging and award-winning artists, exclusively across India and South East Asia, in order to bring their art to the global stage. Started in 2017 by Bandyopadhyay and his uncle Krish Datta, who is also the venture’s current investor and mentor, the e-commerce platform has over 1,300 exclusive artworks from 105 artists, and is also driven with a desire to showcase works of emerging artists who are limited to small scale local markets.
Formerly an IT professional working with Tech Mahindra, Bandyopadhyay explains the process: “The artists reach out to us over email with their portfolio, which is then verified by our curators. We have curators from across South-East Asia who source the most interesting artists.” Currently, they have curators from India, Indonesia and Singapore.Predominantly, the artists in Mayinart are from India, Indonesia and Singapore, including the likes of Shan Re, a contemporary modernist from Bengaluru who is well known for her live works. They also have on board Humera Ali, an emerging artist from Bengaluru whose works have been showcased in India and abroad.
The idea for the venture came from Bandyopadhyay’s years in the IT industry, where he would frequently travel across South-East Asia. His travels made him realise that despite its advent, art and the mindset of artists was the one thing technology couldn’t touch. “Talented artists from India and Indonesia simply do not get an opportunity to taste success. Many struggle to make ends meet. This was the trigger behind creating Mayinart, a platform to help bring this creativity out in the open,” he explains.
Although Mayinart is an online gallery, Bandyopadhyay frequently hosts art exhibitions in India and Singapore to create an offline presence among consumers. “Often what happens during these shows is that people get to see the work in person. This helps in building their trust and then the consumer knows what they are buying online,” he says. The future looks bright for the startup, with projects looking towards new investors, along with plans to open on-ground art galleries in Singapore and India.