Art Lovers
Chitra Santhe fair 2024: Art, crowd, and colours paint the bustling canvas of Kumarakrupa road
As it has been the case for many years now, the entire stretch of Kumarakrupa Road was shut off for traffic, as Bengalureans thronged the now famous “Chitra Santhe”, the city’s annual art fair, in droves. Like every year, the 21st edition was held on the first Sunday of January. Between 6 am and 9 pm, Bengaluru Traffic Police restricted vehicular movement on Kumarakrupa Road to facilitate movement of the crowd. On the official website of Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, the organiser of the event, it was roughly estimated that the one-day fair usually sees nearly five lakh people.
Started in 2002 to propagate the concept of ‘art for all,’ in no time the fair grew to be the giant it is today, something both the up-and-coming artists as well as art lovers look forward to. Even during the pandemic, the tradition continued with a virtual Santhe. Artist Sanjay Lavakere, who has made Bengaluru his home for 16 years now and is participating in the fair for a second time, said he was lucky to get a slot this time. “I have been trying to get a slot for the last five years, and managed to get one a couple of years ago, but was not lucky the last two years,” Lavakere told PTI.
Art lovers in the Capital were recently treated to a group show titled Visions Unveiled. Inaugurated by chief guest Sanjeev Kishor Goutam, director general, National Gallery of Modern Art, the exhibition has about 30 artworks with15 participating artists.
Millin Sangha Gujral, one of the organisers of the show, said, “Art holds the power to foster emotional resilience and facilitate healing, making it a transformative tool for personal growth.” The exhibit was curated by Dr Mandakini Devi.
With an influx of sparkling new museums, galleries, and exhibition spaces, Hong Kong’s claim as one of the art world’s most important capitals is only growing stronger.
As a global financial center and a gateway to China (which overtook the UK in 2023 as the second biggest art market in the world, behind the US), Hong Kong has, of course, long been an art hub. But it had been largely closed off to the world for three years during the COVID-19 pandemic, and blossoming in the isolation was a broader refocusing on local talent and the cultivation of a local art infrastructure. Not to mention a gallery boom, driven by a new generation of collectors keen on homegrown talent: The Hong Kong Art Gallery Association reported a 27% increase in member galleries between 2021 and 2023.
Read more: https://www.vogue.com/article/hong-kong-art-guide
The nexus of the Nordic region, Copenhagen continues to flex its cultural capital. Its food, fashion, and design scenes are attracting attention from travelers, with steady growth in the Danish tourism sector in recent years. Meanwhile, “Scandi girl” style and Nordic design tips flutter across the internet; Noma continues its 20-year run as the world’s premier restaurant; and do we even need to mention hygge? The ubiquity of the cozy concept in the Anglophone world shows the force of Danish influence.
For art lovers, Copenhagen trumpets a formidable network of galleries, dispersed across distinct districts, along with beloved and boundary-pushing institutions. Bonhams even acquired family-run Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen in 2022 as a signal of commitment to the region. And of course, there’s CHART, the Copenhagen art fair that runs in late August, bringing together galleries only from the Nordic region.
Read more: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-art-lovers-guide-copenhagen
