The cost of being an art buff

Is viewing art only the hobby of the wealthy We couldnrsquot help but wonder after noticing the pattern of hefty ticket prices for the slew of events mushrooming over the cityscape Or have we been so spoiled by Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum R10adults R5kids and Jehangir Art Galleryrsquos free pyaar that we baulk at the thought of reaching into our wallets for a cultural educationFor instance Art Mumbai 2023 the firstofitskind event held in November had an entry price of R1500 for the day and R2500 for threeday pass More than 53galleries collaborated to bring together the works of over 300 artists in a honeycomb of booths in tents at Mahalaxmi Racecourse and it was englamoured by the presence of rare Raja Ravi Varmas and MF HusainsStill Consider this In the 2000s you could attend screenings by The Mumbai Academy of Moving Image MAMI at premium theatres such as INOX on a shoestring budget or for free as a student Granted those were the early years the festival commenced in 1997 this year required an enthusiast to shell out R1500 to watch three movies a dayBollywood actors Rajkummar Rao and Patralekha pose upon their arrival for the opening ceremony of lsquoJio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023rsquo in Mumbai on October 27 PicGetty ImagesDoesnrsquot this immediately keep art out of the common personrsquos reach Is that the intent Or is it just the realistic cost of production for airconditioned marquees security for priceless pieces and maintaining the life of vintage goldspun zari on a 300yearold Paithani sareeThe Kala Ghoda Arts Festival KGAF founded in 1999 steadfastly stands as one of the oldest free public events in the city to remain so All its offeringsmdashmusic concerts dance recitals theatremdashcome free of a tag year after year HowldquoEverybody wonders how we manage without charging the publicrdquo laughs Brinda Miller KGAFrsquos chairperson ldquoFunding is a big challenge and we scramble for it all through the year However we received a lot of love post COVID even when corporate funds for such events were drying uprdquo Over the years publishing groups have played main sponsor for KGAF their name prefixed to the festival In the case of smaller sponsors representation is only through art ldquoFor example a chocolate company may want an installation featuring their productrdquo says Miller ldquoBut we do it organically No banners or postershellip itrsquos just not what Kala Ghoda stands forrdquo Funds also trickle on goodwill earned over the years ldquoMany philanthropists come forward to help us because they know what we are doing for the city We give space to all kinds of artistsmdashveterans students and even those who have never studied art But we never offer them funding we just cannotrdquoAlisha Sadkote Ranjit Hoskote and Arjun BahlDoes the quality and fame of the artists hosted justify the entry ticket price of mega events then ldquoI do not think sordquo says Miller over the phone ldquoMany established artists showcase their work at festivals such as ours because they want a wider audience and also it is their way to give back to societyrdquoThe line she draws is between a cultural festival for the city and a marketing exercise for their productmdashthe artistic worksmdashby a curator artist or gallerist ldquoI understand why these events take place the artist has to make some moneyrdquo she says ldquoI do Kala Ghoda out of passion but for the rest of the year I do make art for a living But accessibility to view such art is important as well festivals such as KGAF play that important rolerdquo This year KGAF will be held from January 20 to 29 An entry fee only works for museumsrdquo informs Ayesha Parikh the founder of Bandrarsquos Art and Charlie Funding for them can come from multiple sources such as state and central governments private philanthropists philanthropic trusts other museums as well as CSR wings of corporationsThe Sassoon Dock Art Project drew three lakh visitors in 2023 File picEven the early success of film festivals such as MAMI was bolstered in part by government funding ldquoMany other festivals in the city also had funding from the government so you could register take a pass and attend the festival for how ever many days it was being heldrdquo says filmmaker Paromita Vohra whose work has been showcased at the festivals such as MAMI and the Mumbai International Film Festival Attending these allowed her and many others to learn the art of film making ldquoWhen these events were freerdquo she says ldquoI would go and sit there from morning till night and it is from here that many a filmmaker emerged Ticketing automatically limits the crowd and also the appetite of the audience who might otherwise love to see movies from different genresrdquoWhen we reached out JIO MAMI responded in a statement ldquoWe are not a ticketed event We encourage our delegates to register for the festival and as a part of that they get access to all audience facing programmes at the festival Jio MAMI merchandise and free entry for all films across all venues To a lot of institutions especially students we offer free registrationsrdquo The phenomenon of paid registrations for film festivals is a worldwide practice and exists for many reasons Jio MAMIrsquos statement says ldquoIt helps in crowd management gives an idea about what the occupancy will be like at each venue Accordingly we prepare for the eventThere are multiple points involved in getting a film festival to audiences and itrsquos very important the organisers have a clear views on the expected number of people at each venueAll around the world city film festivals are ticketed ie you pay to watch each film At Jio MAMI itrsquos a pass for 10 days of the festival with free access to all films masterclasses panels etcrdquoThe Kala Ghoda Art Festival last held in February 2023 began in 1999 File picldquoYou have to realise that for galleries art is finally a businessrdquo says Parikh bluntly ldquoMy approach to accessibility in art is slightly different When we talk about lower prices for events the key is to strike a balance If you charge R200 for a ticket it will take 20 visitors to make just R6000mdash then the artist has no value and thatrsquos not nice You are also not incentivising themrdquo she addsParikhrsquos personal opinion is that people are too used to accessing culture at very low prices ldquoPrivate institutions canrsquot do thatrdquo she says ldquoFunds can only be raised for places such as Prithvi Theatre If people are willing to pay more bigger artists can perform or be invited and private institutions can hold moresuch offeringsrdquoTasneem Zakaria Mehta puts her weight behind this balancing act stressing it is essential for the cityrsquos art scene ldquoIf you are looking for great art one must understand what great art entailsrdquo says the director of Bycullarsquos Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum BDL the cityrsquos oldest art and antiquities archive ldquoTo understand that something is of a certain calibre one needs the exposure to understand it For which you have to make a little bit of an effort to find out whatrsquos going on just like everything in life At BDL we do programmes on a massive scale for children When we reopenmdashhopefully in a few monthsmdashthe exhibits will be contemporary and modern and our tickets are priced at R10 which means people of all economic backgrounds get a chance to come and view art hererdquoTasneem Mehta director of BDL Museum is working towards a grand reopening of the institution PicShadab KhanMehta understands that festivals and fairs command a high entry price since the displays and exhibits need protection ldquobut the fact is that the general population wants to be a part of these contemporary art exhibitions too So itrsquos a balancing act for the art worldrdquoThe Sassoon Dock Art Project by the Start India Foundation is among the events with the biggest footfall in the city Cofounder Arjun Bahl pegs the number of visitors at the last edition held from December 2022 to January 2023 to three lakhs ldquoOne of the reasons we hosted the festival at Sassoon Dock is that the space in itself is so Mumbai The sea the fish and ambience are so emblematic of the city a corporate affair would never dordquo he says of the event held at the cityrsquos oldest and largest functioning wholesale fish marketRoping in Mumbai Port Trust and Asian Paints as the projectrsquos main sponsors across many editions has allowed the organisers to keep entry free ldquoWe are not here to profit out of the eventrdquo says Bahl ldquoOf course priced tickets might help us to set up better facilities So even if we introduce tickets the fee will be R10 or R50 ensuring that people from all socioeconomic arenas can experience art while standing next to each othermdashwhich is the way art should be experienced without social boundaries Everyone deserves to see art and have an opinion about it and we hope that the ethos of the Sassoon Dock Art Project lives on beyond what we dordquoBrinda Miller the chairperson of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival believes that there is no difference in the quality of art made available at ticketed and free festivals PicShadab KhanOne way to gain an artistic education at low cost is through guided art walks conducted by enthusiasts educators or sometimes an artist themselves for free or for as low as R500 Many of them are held in the cityrsquos art pockets in Bandra Flora Fountain Colaba Kala Ghoda Khotachiwadi and even Worli Such as the ones by Alisha Sadikot and Nishita Zachariah of Art amp Wonderment which democratise the seemingly bourgeoise interestMany of their patrons have held an interest in art but never dared venture close to a gallery ldquoWe accompany and guide peoplerdquo says Sadikot ldquoitrsquos like going to see art with friends just that you donrsquot have to walk up to a gallery on your own and ring the bellrdquo The guided tours are usually held on Saturday mornings and priced at Rs 1000 for adultsldquoWe are art historiansrdquo she says ldquoWe try to demystify what the artist is trying to say or the gallerist or curatormdashin ways that are engaging encourage close looking and convey what we love most about the art wersquore seeing We also understand that it can be confusing to find galleries or have information about exhibits People tell us that they love the fact that we curate the route and show diverse art and even find artists who let us peek into their studio and understand their process What we find wonderful is that many of our guests become regulars at art galleries even coming back and joining us for dates family visits and birthdaysrdquo Sadikot says art walks have really taken off in the last twoyears after COVIDimposed restrictions were liftedRanjit Hoskote believes that all art is easily available to everyone at least in theory ldquoIt may seem like a big transition in accessibility because until the early 90s there were only three or four galleries in the city and today there are quite a few but they are all free for anyone to walk intordquo says the poet art curator and art critic who curated one of the first art shows at Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre NMACC ldquoTicketed events such as the Mumbai Art Fair are annual occurrences so they are not the rule but the exceptionrdquo The issue says Hoskote is that the coverage these events receive is not as good as the everyday almost humdrum life of the art world that lives in its galleries ldquoPeople do not pay enough attention to the art found in free or modestlypriced art galleries and even to exhibitions like the ones held at DD Neroy Gallery Grant Roadrdquo he saysHoskote believes that the marriage of new art centers such as the NMACCS to art fairs festivals and smaller galleries will shape the ecosystem over the next 10 years and shift the scene from south Mumbai to the suburbsInputs by Neerja Deodhar