Indulge in art with this community through WhatsApp to meet like-minded people

In a city where new exhibitions performances and cultural events open almost every week keeping up with Mumbairsquos art scene can be overwhelming But for more than 250 art lovers across the city all it takes is opening WhatsAppWhat began as a conversation between a handful of strangers on an art walk has evolved into one of Mumbairsquos most active informal art communities The Art Buffs WhatsApp group brings together artists architects entrepreneurs finance professionals retirees photographers and firsttime gallery visitors united by the shared passion of art and cultureFor 67yearold Sudip Bhattacharya one of the grouprsquos earliest members art entered his life only after decades in the corporate world ldquoI have been a numbers guy all my liferdquo he says ldquoI was working for a corporation and never had time for art One day in my office building I happened to meet the owner of a major art auction house who introduced me to art walks in Mumbai Thatrsquos how it startedrdquoArtist Nur explains his art to the Art Buffs at Anupa Mehta Contemporary Art GalleryThose walks changed everything ldquoI came to know about the finer nuances of art I met people and some became friends for life Art gives me peacerdquo he saysThe idea for the WhatsApp group emerged just before the pandemic during one such art walk in Lower Parel A small group of participants including an architect wondered why there wasnrsquot a space where people interested in art could stay connected even after the walks ended ldquoIt started with just four or five peoplerdquo Bhattacharya recalls ldquoEverybody began adding friends who would be interested in art We had no age groups or criteria Soon artists and gallerists joined too Today we have a family of over 250 peoplerdquoUnlike many online communities Art Buffs has stayed focused Discussions are limited to art and the group tries to let the chat wander around unrelated topics ldquoWhen I say art I donrsquot just mean paintingsrdquo Bhattacharya explains ldquoWe discuss music performance photography architecture mdash everything Around 30 to 40 members regularly share information about new exhibitions and cultural happenings in the cityrdquoShanthi Kasiviswanathan artisteThe conversations frequently move offline Members meet at exhibition openings attend gallery walks together and often end the day over dinner and drinks turning shared interests into lasting friendships ldquoSome people have even fallen in love through our grouprdquo Bhattacharya laughsArtist Shanthi Kasiviswanathan who also goes by Kasi has witnessed the grouprsquos journey almost from the beginning Having taken up painting in her forties she met Bhattacharya during one of the Mumbai Gallery Associationrsquos art walks After her first solo exhibition at Artisans in 2019 she was invited to join the group ldquoIt was quite a small group back thenrdquo she says ldquoIt was just friends getting togetherrdquoOver the years she has watched it grow into an inclusive community that keeps members informed about everything happening in Mumbairsquos cultural landscape ldquoInitially wersquod share information about whatrsquos happening in the city regarding art and culture and that helped the group flourishrdquo Kasi says ldquoNot everyone is active but thatrsquos okay This group is nobodyrsquos group it isnrsquot about ownership We are just all part of itrdquoInterestingly Kasi says she rarely shares her own artworks on the platformldquoI find it more interesting to speak to the nonartistes in the grouprdquo she says ldquoThey take such an active interest in art and culture that they become committed to a community There are engineers entrepreneurs finance professionals and so many others It has become an informal guidance space as wellrdquoThat spirit of appreciation is more important to Bhattacharya than ever in an era where social media often reduces creativity to a product ldquoToday art is sold like a commodityrdquo he says ldquoBut art is somebodyrsquos passion and vision An artiste goes through years of training before expressing that through their work When it becomes only about making a quick buck art suffers This group is one way of keeping that passion aliverdquoContact to join the group 91 96191 67153 Sudip Bhattacharya