I just returned from Paris. My best moments were walking around Plaza Concorde amidst the sculpture bejewelled fountain, Cleopatra’s needle- and sculpture-adorned buildings. Whether it was the nip in the air or the sheer beauty around me, I resorted to my favourite dream—why can’t Indian cities be immersed in art? Why can’t we use the power and beauty of art to unleash the human spirit?
Public art, to me, is art that is democratic, easily available for viewership by the masses and is able to create a dialogue with the environment, the art itself and the viewer. It could be works of art in a public museum, an installation in a traffic roundabout, graffiti or street art in a colony or a temporary biennale.
From the great temples of Hampi to the caves of Ajanta and Ellora, we were a country whose art was for public consumption. However, we have arrived at a moment in time where we struggle to access art. The quality and quantity of art in our public spaces—be it museums, public sculpture parks or simply artistic interventions in the city—leave much to be desired.
If art is about beauty and evoking an emotional response, when did we stop demanding aesthetically pleasing cities and environments? Entering the realm of this is both depressing and time-consuming whereas the more pertinent enquiry is—what are we going to do to change it?
In 2019, the Louvre alone got 9.6 million visitors, all of India got 10.93 million. Not only is art a conduit of French soft power, it is also a massive revenue generator propelling employment, tax revenue and ancillary business generating millions of dollars a year because of it. Beauty aside, art makes business sense too. Over the past decade we have seen many significant attempts by foundations, organisations and private corporations to intervene in cities, build museums and do large art events. I want to talk about my three favourites. The Kochi Biennale in its 10th year running has become the iconic public art intervention for Kerala and India. Drawing almost 6,00,000 visitors per edition over 108 days, it increases revenue generation for hospitality, travel sectors while increasing employment.
The second is St+art—initiated in 2015. It contributes to urban regeneration and community living through contemporary urban art projects. The foundation enables a vision for democratised public spaces through interdisciplinary art interventions that are rooted in the social context. Founder Arjun Bahl says, “From the outset, the idea was to present a wide range of artistic genres and deal with relevant issues.” Their most notable intervention is the Lodhi art district in Delhi, which is one of the primary points of interest in the city.
And third is The Sculpture Park at Nahargarh, Jaipur—India’s first international sculpture park, at the Madhavendra Palace. It started getting approximately 6,000 people a day during its peak season. The brainchild of Vasundhara Raje Scindia, the erstwhile Chief Minister of Rajasthan, and Mala Singh, it proved that vision paired with vertical professionals could create magic, and have a ripple effect on revenue and cause increased engagement with our heritage monuments.
Kiran Nadar’s Museum in Delhi, Museum of Art and Photography in Bengaluru, Sunaparanta’s Foundation in Goa, the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa, Bihar Museum’s Biennale, Khoj’s public art initiatives and Chennai Photo Biennale are the current beacons of public art in India. Fabulous but too few in a country of our size. India doesn’t even feature in the top 30 of the Portland Soft Power list. I believe that in a country of 1.4 billion people, the world’s largest growing democracy with a steadily growing list of unicorns and billionaires, we can expand the scope of our infrastructural needs to the softer needs of our communities and public. The WEF projects India to be the world’s third largest economy by 2030. How can we justify not having art as a mainstay in our everyday life?
Government should allow more CSR into art, increasing its scope beyond heritage sites. More private corporates can adopt areas around their real estate. Policy can be eased up on public-private partnerships. We are at the right moment in history, with the right might of a growing economy to propel us. All we need is a unified effort, a willful government with pro-art policy and a supportive corporate community.
aj@terrain.art