FEATURE

Shovin Bhattacharjee

Huesdays for Delhi Art Lovers

India Times Art, a sister concerns of the Times of India Group recently started a monthly art program named ‘Huesday’. Huesday happens on the last Thursday of every month in Delhi. Huesday is an occasion to pick and choose the works of art you like. A report.

If you are an ‘opening hopper’ and ‘art shopper’, Delhi is a chosen land for you. Every other day there is an opening here and if you are loaded with cash and luck, you will be able to get the kind of works you want. Luck? Yes even if you are cash rich, it is not necessary that you can grab a work that you really want. The galleries have become very choosy regarding their buyers and collectors. If you are new in the list, wait for sometime and prove that you are serious about your intention to purchase. As the Wildenstein executive said, “You don’t marry off the girl after her first dating with a guy. Do you?” You need to prove you are a consistent, persistent and passionate suitor.

Bikash Poddar

But don’t be so heartbroken. Here is Huesdays for you from India Times Art, a sister concern of the Times of India Group. Huesdays are meant for good art, good wine, good talk, good socializing and buying a few good pieces of art. Started three months back, the concept of Huesdays is simple: Huesday is a colorful day and it is the last Thursday of every month. On a Huesday you can see the works of two selected artists, read their catalogues, also see the analysis of market experts who predict the value of these artists in the coming days and the reasons for that. So you buy a work of art with some kind of assurance that you are not wasting your money on something temporarily fancy. India Times Group, which is going to expand in art scene in a big way, is the backbone and surety of your purchase and it is going to be there to assure you that your money is not wasted.

Does one need to be lucky even in Huesdays? “Though I don’t believe in luck, the response that we get from art buyers, collectors and the general art lovers is so heartening that in the coming months, I feel that the buyers should have some luck with them for getting works from Huesdays,” says Sonali Engineer, the Art Head, India Times Art who conceptualized and executed the program in Delhi for the first time. “We have a good back up, strong clientele and strong research and organization team. All these three together makes Huesdays a huge hit,” observes Sonali.

Huesdays was started in January 2008 with a display of the works of Suman Roy and Neeraj Bakshi. In Huesday events, the works are displayed on easels and it gives some kind of art fair feeling. Does it put the real buyer off? “Huesdays are not about a regular gallery opening. Its ambience is different and we consider Huesdays as an event not as a high-browist art do. People come here to enjoy this ambience and serious art buyers and collectors feel good as they mingle with the artists and a cream crowd. Our intention is to make every huesday a memorable event,” Sonali Engineer says.

In February 2008, the works of Yati Jaiswal and K.Jagjit Singh were exhibited at the F-Bar of the Ashoka Hotel. The well sponsored Huesday events have become a talking point in Delhi. In March 2008, Huesday presents the works of Shovin Bhattacharjee and Bikash Poddar. “Mostly we try to bring in two artists with two different art styles. Our aim is to showcase the new and established artists together,” says Sonali. Soon Huesdays would be hitting Mumbai too with its Huesdays Mumbai Chapter.