With the belief that ‘Art is not about money, but about the passion’, Forbes India, has announced winners of first ever Forbes Indian Art Awards (FIAA). The contenders for the award were artists from varied Art fields includ
ing collectors, galleries, curators, writers, entrepreneurs, and artists bringing out painting, sculpture, mixed media, video, photography and performance art.
“The objective of India Art Awards is to create a platform for interaction between India’s corporate’s and the Indian art community.” Shares Forbes India in a statement
The Jury members Forbes India Art Awards were, Lekha Poddar (Jury Chairperson)– Chairperson of Devi Art Foundation and is also one of India’s most prominent collectors, Kiran Nadar – Prominent Collector, Founder and Chairperson Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Shivinder Mohan Singh, Executive Vice Chairman, Fortis Healthcare and Ranjit Hoskote – Independent cultural theorist, art writer and critic.
FIAA Awards were divided into 14 Art Categories and here is the complete list of winners:
Young Collector of the Year: Anurag Khanna. For his commitment and risk taking ability in collecting different types of art including video art.
Contemporary Gallery of the Year – Experimenter, Kolkata. For their work in highlighting experimental and alternative artists from the entire South Asian subcontinent.
Gallery of the Year – Talwar Gallery, New Delhi. For their ideological and visual spectra expressed through the gallery’s exhibitions in 2013 that have been well received by the international media and major museums worldwide.
Not-for-Profit Art Initiative of the Year – Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA). For their work in encouraging, promoting and supporting innovative work in the field of the visual arts.
Corporate Commitment of the Year: GVK. For converting the 4,39,000 square metres of space at Terminal 2 of the Mumbai International Airport into a large installation of art works
Auction of the Year: Christie’s?first auction in india, south Asian Art December 19, 2013, Mumbai.
Emerging Curator of the Year: Zasha Colah and Sumesh Sharma, founding directors and curators at The Clark House Initiative, Mumbai, a not-for-profit space that opened in 2010.The jury also made a special mention of the contribution of curator Shanay Jhaveri Exhibition of Indian Art Curated on an International Stage: Ram Rahman and Jessica Moss, for “The Sahmat Collective: Art and Activism in India since 1989”
Emerging Art Writer of the Year: Jyoti Dhar. Jyoti Dhar is an independent art writer and curator based in Delhi. She is currently the contributing editor for ArtAsiaPacific and Harper’s Bazaar Art.
Solo Show Debut of the Year: Sahej Rahal for his show ‘Forerunner’ at Chatterjee and Lal, Mumbai. They Jury also made special mention of the work of Hajra Waheed for ‘Sea Change’ at Experimenter Kolkata
Contemporary Artist of the year (Senior) : The joint winners of this award were the Late Nasreen Mohamadi and Dr. Krishna Reddy. The award went to both the winners jointly for their lifetime body of work
Contemporary Artist of the year (Mid Career). Subodh Gupta. Gupta’s works are littered with references to past and present experiences. His constructions weave highly eccentric imaginings with public myths and rituals. Drawing mainly from everyday objects and scenarios, his aesthetic delineates the complex inter-relations of India’s urban and rural communities.
Contemporary Artist of the year (Junior) – Rohini Devasher. Rohini Devasher’s artistic practice explores the interface between the underlying laws and processes that govern growth and form in biological and physical systems and their mirroring in the digital domain.
Art Entrepreneur of the Year: Neha Kirpal for India Art Fair. Neha Kirpal has been instrumental in steering? the fair’s unprecedented growth over six years into becoming ?the premier destination for art in the region.
Art Initiative of the Year: Google Art Project. Google Art Project is an online platform through which the public can access high-resolution images of artworks housed in the initiative’s partner museum.
Special Commendation for Outstanding Contribution to the Cause of Art: Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Khomu for the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. Acknowledging the lack of an international platform for contemporary art in India, Bose and Komu proposed and executed the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (a large-scale international exhibition) in Kochi on the lines of the Venice Biennale