15 Dec 2017  |   02:40am IST

Bringing people closer to art

Museum of Goa is launching the Goa Affordable Art Fest on December 17, 2017 to give art lovers the opportunity to own exquisite pieces of art at affordable prices. Café has the details

Dolcy D’Cruz

What started out as a humble

idea of providing a platform for emerging artists is evolving to be a major art festival that will showcase the works of 1,200 artists from across the country and abroad. We are talking about the first Goa Affordable Art Fest (GAAF) by the Museum of Goa (MOG).

MOG, the brainchild of artist Subodh Kerkar, has completed two years of bringing the best of various genres of art under one roof. To celebrate this milestone, the father-son duo of Subodh and Siddharth will be launching the first edition of GAAF at Museum of Goa, Pilerne from December 17, 2017 to February 28, 2018. This curated festival will exhibit over a thousand quality paintings, sculptures, photographs and prints priced within an affordable range of Rs 3000 to Rs 1 Lakh.

Subodh has been working with a number of young artists, and this joint effort with his son has helped them reach out to more artists over social media. “This is the first of its kind festival as we are focussing on affordability. We wanted to provide an opportunity to young artists and young collectors too. We wanted to show that art doesn’t have to come with a big price or for the very rich. Good art is closer than you think,” says Subodh.

Earlier in the year, Siddharth was in London for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, which had an affordable art fair. “The fair was packed with students, artists and art collectors and we hope to create the same atmosphere for the Goa Affordable Art Fest. We sent out an open call to artists almost two months ago and expected about 50- 70 applications. Instead, we received an overwhelming response of over 740 applications. It was a major success and through strict selection, we narrowed it down to 170 artists and 1200 works,” says 21-year-old Siddharth.

Subodh adds, “Siddharth has done a great job by following art organisations on social media, who’ve followed him back and have popularised the Fest. The festival is so huge that we intend on making it an annual affair. The artworks will be made available to the buyer as soon as they make the purchase.”

The Fest will feature works from noted artists like Sudhir Patwardhan and Madhavi Kolte and will showcase everything in visual art, from photography to abstract art and realistic art.

“The GAAF will be inaugurated by author Amitav Ghosh, followed by an after party with seven Goan deejays to add a festive feel,” concludes Siddharth.

The first edition of GAAF will be held at Museum Of Goa, Pilerne from December 17, 2017 to February 28, 2018. The inauguration will be on the first day at 6pm