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It is a happy paradox that the October anniversary festivities of just twenty-four season old Aakriti Art Gallery has, instead of the rusty browns of falling leaves of autumn, the glistening greens of navin-kishalay of spring. Thanks for that should unquestioningly go to the conception of GenNext I exhibition with which the one-year old gallery celebrated its first anniversary, in October 2006. The youthful management of the young gallery planned to project the celebration as one of abundance of youthful creativity, through mounting the GenNext I exhibition. GenNext I was a randomly selected show of work by twenty-seven below-forty young painters, sculptors, printmakers and installers, mostly originating from Bengal. Half of them, in their twenties and early thirties had not exhibited in public before. Some, however, were already being noticed before. Like the first, for the GenNext II artists were just collected. It was a larger show this time, with work by forty artists. With two consecutive annual exhibitions, dot on scheduled dates, GenNext established its credentials as an annual art event to look for ward to. More so, because a number of young sculptors, painters and printmakers, exhibiting publicly for the first time in GenNext came to be recognized as with promise to be the artists of the up and coming generation. Some got contracts from globally operational art galleries and put on international circuits.
The task of scouting for talents which Aakriti Art Gallery, unlike many of its elder peers, had taken up as an article of faith, was to continue. So, for the GenNext III of 2008, the management of the gallery introduced a selection system. Entry as an exhibitor, through World Wide Web network and invitation of entries through print-media was introduced. Response from all over the country and abroad having been mind-boggling, the management decided to have a two stage selection process. After the first short listing, the short listed works were submitted to a panel of veteran artists and art writers. Finally, forty artists, including twelve from various foreign countries, could get through the sieve. Thus the character of Gennext got changed from its third edition. For the first time in the history of art exhibitions in India a private gallery took the risk of entering this rather uncertain realm of competitive anthological exhibition that has so far been a preserve of non- profit public (art) institutions. To give to their October anniversary an all round festive aura, Aakriti Art Gallery had arranged art workshops where young artists worked with veterans and interactive discussions. Young artists from other art centers of the country were provided with hospitality for physically participating in the festivities, reminding one of the glorious days of Lalit Kala National Exhibitions of the past.
This year, for the Gennext IV organizers have made yet another change. While the exhibition entry remains competitive for artists below the age of forty from all over the globe, the organizers have dispensed with the services of veteran artists and art analysts and themselves have assumed the role of being selectors. While no one can deny their right of choice, as the exhibition after all is sponsored by a private art gallery, there remains the possibility of the exhibition being turned into one of a trendy marketable art, to the exclusion of more serious non-conformist art. But that is only a possibility. Considering the present downturn in the market, this experiment to come up with more market friendly arts may not be wholly unjustified. Whatever may be the intention, the flexibility of approach, to organizing a regularly held event, is always good for the health of the event.
- Pranabranjan Ray
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