There is no denying the fact that art is one of the most fundamental means of human expression, of representation, and of inclusion. Humans have been associated with art since the beginning of civilization. The pristine human qualities of empathy and understanding lends colossal significance to art, especially in rapidly transforming times, such as now. In a country like India, with such densely crosscutting streams of culture and religion, art finds a new powerful purpose, that of representing and engaging with new ideas.
Art, especially contemporary art, is no longer limited to sculpture or paintings. It has become a merging wave of different creative professions such as spoken word poetry, cinematography, animation, and the like. The importance of art lies not only in its intrinsically inspiring and communicative characteristics, but also in its effect in our daily life. Then, in a society known for its gaping contrasts in every walk of life, it isn’t surprising that the gatekeepers of art thrive only in metropolitan cities.
The majority of artists survive only in streets glittering with urbanity and vanity. There are several reasons for this, whose origins, perhaps, lie in our deepened rigid public conscience that art is supposed to be enjoyed by the privileged class on the ladder of our social spectrum. Other major reasons include accessibility, popularity, lack of awareness, dearth of resources. This may also have something to do with our apparent lack of faith in new emerging artists which leads to many of them straying further away from their fields. There is a paucity of free spaces to exhibit, to perform, to showcase and, well, of organisers who can identify budding artists in small towns and provide them with necessary resources. It also concerns our primary mindset of not encouraging art enough for it to be forged into a tangible career option.
Art, as the institution it is now, isn’t all that well known in small towns. It is seen as something foreign, something to be gulped down only by the “eccentrics” of society. It all comes down to money and time. The majority of Indians living in tier 2 cities (which neither fits into the definition of town nor into cities) primarily belong to the middle class, which earns enough to satisfy its needs but not enough to afford its wants. They neither have time nor money to expend on the luxury of art. That explains why “rebellious brats”, a term coined for millennials, escape to metropolitans to find sowing ground for their art. Though, with the smart phone generation, and people are getting to know about Van Gogh and Murakami, there is still a lack of interest and a lack of awareness about artists and art. But people can’t be solely blamed, can they? We have been conditioned to take interest in anything which can be converted to money. This is the crux of the conflict.
This is not to say there haven’t been incredible strides in our cultural fabric due to art. There is a burgeoning outburst of creative talent across the nation in the last decade, courtesy to globalisation and utilisation of internet in spreading information and opportunities.
Art carries the powerful voice of our generation, which is on the cusp of transformation. Especially around the nation’s capital city Delhi, young students use their art to voice their concerns in revolutions and marches which is in and of itself an incredible sight to witness.
But the question remains, whether art and its reflections will trickle down to the smaller towns and its people. Will art, one day, will break out of the shackles of privileged rich people and be enjoyed by middle class for all it is worth? What we need more than anything is an unbridled appreciation and encouragement of art and artists (no matter what field they belong to). Art breaks the rot of a mundane life. It inspires and motivates and stimulates and uplifts and enhances people. Connoisseurs of art have known this for a long time now. A proper decentralisation, if it happens, will bring about unprecedented transformations in our society which is in the midst of an exciting churn.
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