Astonishing world of art, artists
HYDERABAD: Rewind 2024
Hyderabad witnessed an influx of artists from across India this year. The reason? Exhibitions! The many large-scale exhibitions curated by the artists themselves became the talk of the town, bolstered by the city’s ever-growing list of exciting new venues.
Among the most astonishing events this year, a few stood out: The NEWS Art Festival, curated by Bolgum Nagesh Goud, Laxman Aelay, and Manvinder Dawer; Affordable Art India’s southern debut in Hyderabad; and the centrepiece of it all — The Real Van Gogh Immersive Experience.
Places like Quorum and Rangbhoomi became buzzing hubs for art enthusiasts. CE spoke with the curators and founders behind these events to dive into their experience of bringing this creative energy to Hyderabad.
The Real Van Gogh Immersive Experience
Nikhil Chinapa, curator and brand ambassador for the exhibit
Immersive experiences like The Real Van Gogh Immersive Experience are instrumental in democratising art and making it accessible to a wider audience. They attract people who might hesitate to enter a museum or an art gallery.
Watching art enthusiasts — young and old – and Van Gogh newbies lose themselves in Van Gogh’s artistic brilliance and vivid colours, brought to life via pioneering 22k projection, was immensely satisfying in cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, and Chandigarh. Hyderabad is a very important cultural centre, and we were confident that an immersive experience like this would be greatly appreciated by audiences here. We are working on taking this to other cities in 2025.
Rangbhoomi
Jay Jha and Preksha, founders of Rangbhoomi
The start of 2024 has been nothing short of magical for Rangbhoomi. When we lost our previous space, we were devastated. Rangbhoomi was more than a venue — it was a dream, a community, and a home for artists. But we knew we had to rebuild, not just for us but for everyone who believed in what Rangbhoomi stands for. It wasn’t easy, but we poured everything into creating something even better — a traditional yet well-equipped space where every artist, whether established or new, could find a stage to shine.
The response has been overwhelming. The day after our launch, bookings started rolling in, and since then, the momentum hasn’t stopped. Week after week, we’ve hosted incredible shows, and the number of performances and audiences has nearly doubled. This year, we’ve seen an amazing range of performances, each leaving its mark and reaffirming why Rangbhoomi exists.
The Quorum
Amit Kumar Jain, head of art programme
In 2024, we are glad to have added The Quorum Hyderabad to the city’s art circuit. Hyderabad is one of the fastest-growing cities in India and has an appetite for collecting both modern and contemporary art.
The Art Quotient has curated its programme in Hyderabad to nurture and educate not only the discerning collector but also first-time art buyers by presenting a diverse range of exhibitions from leading galleries. It’s been less than a year, but we have held four exhibitions, hosted a range of talks, and built a community of members who welcome our efforts.
NEWS Art Festival
Bolgum Nagesh Goud, artist and curator
The NEWS Art Fest was planned over 16 months and brought together 200 eminent artists, including national stalwarts and international friends. With Anjolie Ela Menon, Shobha Broota, Palaniappan, Vinod Sharma, and Vrundavan Solanki, the camp showcased an extraordinary convergence of talent.
The motive? We want to see Hyderabad as an art hub. With its legacy of Deccani miniature paintings, Nakashi art, Bidri craftsmanship, and multicultural cosmopolitanism, Hyderabad holds immense potential to expand the art market. Besides exhibitions, the event featured live workshops, panel discussions, art talks, folk art displays, music concerts, performances, and film screenings. The tremendous response from across India reaffirmed the event’s success. We have plans for the next edition, but it’s not an annual event.
Affordable Art India
Srila Chatterjee, co-founder and curator of Baro Market
At Baro Art, we believe art is for everyone. Our aim is to bring original, certified art within the reach of more people, both online and through our Affordable Art shows. We price our art to be fair to both the artist and the buyer and weave in storytelling to break down the barriers that often exclude people from engaging with art.
We began in Mumbai in 2020, and the response we got convinced us that there’s a need for accessible art across the country. In August 2024, we had our first show in Hyderabad at the Crafts Council Telangana space. We chose Hyderabad for its love of art, long artistic tradition, and vibrant modernity.
The response to our show was excellent. People were keen to learn about art, especially folk art from different parts of India. They also loved the special collection of Hyderabad watercolours by Zainab Tambawalla. We intend to come back to the city in 2025 for sure and would love to make it an annual event.