Bengaluru hosts its first India Art Festival 2022

Bengaluru: India Art Festival (IAF) witnessed full house participation from artists from across the country despite the impact of the pandemic, claim festival organisers.

A contemporary art fair, this is the first edition of the IAF in Bengaluru being held in collaboration with Karnataka ChitrakalaParishath, here, till May 8.

It features 25 galleries and 400 artists from across India in 80 booths. There are also a few participants from Singapore.

"The highlight for me is, even though this is the first edition, it is housefull. There are 80 stalls and art galleries from every nook and corner of the country, from Jammu to Kanyakumari," IAF managing director Rajendra said.

"We are here expecting to touch 30,000 visitors in four days," he added.

With similar editions in Mumbai and New Delhi, the organisers hope that IAF- Bengaluru becomes an annual event like 'ChithraSanthe' by the Parishath.

Former External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, who inaugurated the festival, said, "It is a refreshing start."

"Two years have gone by, not many exhibitions, which disappointed the art lovers. I think now, it's beginning to work to open up," he said, adding that the festival is a pan-India effort and a pan-India drive which brings artists from all over the country to come here.

The festival features a diverse range of established and up-and-coming artists and galleries, covering a broad spectrum of art from complex forms, abstract, romantic, traditional, and new interpretations. It is also conducting 'India Art Festival: Conversations', a conference on pertinent subjects of art with several speakers on May 6-7.

With over 3,000 artworks on display, the festival does not have an entry fee and aims to create an interactive experience for visitors with the artists and art galleries.