“I think art should always come from the heart. Art is something that moves you. Can AI move you all the time? I have my doubts,” says museum curator Alka Pande as she reflects on Bengaluru’s distinct art scene, AI in art and Gen Z collectors. An art connoisseur since childhood, Alka grew up in a home filled with music, dance, literature and poetry. Of late, she has been travelling across the country in search of unusual voices and new visual languages for the shows she is curating. “With so much war and strife happening, what are people looking for?” she asks. A pause, then the answer: “Beauty and tranquillity.”‘Bengaluru vs Delhi: Two cities, two grammars of art’“As a curator, I’m also a storyteller of art,” she says. Having spent years in Delhi, Alka finds the contrast between the artistic languages of Delhi and Bengaluru fascinating. “People in Bengaluru are influenced by culture, literature, mythology and stories. Artists often talk about their lives in their art. And the life of artists working in North India is very different from the ones in the South,” she notes.Delhi, layered with politics, power and chaos, evokes a heavier visual response. In Bengaluru, she sees artists experimenting with natural pigments and colours, while telling stories rooted in their own communities. “When I string them together into a ragamala or a garland of stories, it becomes like a book of short stories,” she explains.‘I delve deep into India and its many colours’“Art, for me, is a reflection of society,” she says, adding, “Artists are, in some ways, documenters of society, of the climate and the ecosystem.” Bengaluru, she adds, has created an art ecosystem of its own rather than simply depending on the gallery circuits of Delhi and Mumbai. “I see a lot of students at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath creating their own work who are genuinely interested in art. There’s also the Bangalore Literature Festival happening. There’s theatre here,” she says. “When I visited the Indian Music Experience, for instance, I was gobsmacked. It’s beautifully done,” she beams with delight.Her travels, she says, have deepened her love for India’s cultural diversity. “As I’m growing older and understanding my country more and more, I’m realising the cultural difference in this country. I feel it is not one India, it is many Indias,” Alka says. Different languages, cuisines, traditions and ways of life may divide the country geographically, she believes, but spirituality and philosophy create deeper connections. “Even though we may speak different languages, eat different foods and look different, spirituality and philosophy unify us and keep us together. India is like Europe. We have so much diversity. But there is unity in diversity.”It is this diversity that continues to draw her towards Indian visual culture.
Even though we may speak different languages, eat different foods and look different, spirituality and philosophy unify us and keep us together.
Alka Pande
‘The Gen Z art collector knows that owning an art piece is a part of their own identity and taste’ The way people collect art is changing too, particularly among younger buyers. “Gen Z views art very differently from older generations,” Alka explains. While traditional collectors often focus on beauty and craftsmanship, younger buyers are more drawn to quirkier and experimental work. “They are far more cosmopolitan because they are exposed to a wider range of ideas through their phones and social media,” she adds.“Many artists are promoting their work on Instagram. They don’t even need galleries — it’s like a startup,” Alka says. As for the buyers, she explains, “Gen Z is very well-informed and aware. They know that owning an art piece is a part of their own identity and taste. They may not buy very expensive pieces of art but they buy very quirky and different art for their homes.” Alka adds, “Hundreds of people buy art, and many buy with an eye on the market. Many of them collect only as investments. Some people buy for the sheer joy of it. So it depends on what you are buying. But for the true lovers of art, they have a judicious balance of both investment and creativity.”
Gen Z is very well-informed and aware. They may not buy very expensive pieces of art but they buy very quirky art for their homes.
Alka Pande
Mysuru through an art curator’s eyeA recent trip to Mysuru offered Alka another glimpse into the relationship between art and culture. She had travelled to the city to visit the Chamundeshwari Temple. “I’m a great worshipper of the Devi,” she says, but also took the opportunity to meet local artists. “The artists in Mysuru are very innovative and deeply connected to their environment. I saw artists experimenting with everything from traditional stone to modern beadwork,” she says. Alka was equally struck by the Jagannatha Centre for Art & Culture. “The architecture, the café, and the way art had been woven into every corner of the space, including a magnificent Nataraja sculpture, were inspiring,” she says.Can AI create rasa?Artificial intelligence, Alka says, is the art world’s next great challenge, although she admits she is still learning about the technology. “As a curator, that’s not easy to reckon with. I’m not such a great fan yet because I don’t know enough about it. But many artists are using it. Ultimately, it’s all about the prompts that a human gives the machine. I can’t say how beautiful and immersive AI art would be or how much rasa it would have. It can be immersive but would it have the same aesthetic enjoyment and aesthetic expression? I don’t know,” she says.
I can’t say how beautiful and immersive AI art would be or how much rasa it would have
Alka Pande
Five artists on Alka Pande’s radar
- Bagh Baanaa by Mayank Shyam
Price: ₹2,00,000 - A Walk in the Park by Mandakini Devi
Price: ₹4,00,000 - Four Moons from Symbiotic Land by Amjum Rizve
Price: ₹3,50,000 - Sukun by Dweety Patel
Price: ₹80,000 - Godna Artist by Asha Thadani
Price: ₹3,00,000
