Salva Mubarak Senior Features Writer

Philanthropist, businesswoman, art collector, and founder of the Devi Art Foundation, Lekha Poddar is a renowned patron for modern, contemporary, textile, and folk art. In the past, she has served as the Co-Chair of the South Asian Acquisition Committee at Tate Modern, London, has been a member of the Tate International Council, and she was also on the Asian Advisory Board of the Guggenheim Museum, New York. This is why there’s no better name that could have been added to the jury panel at the first-ever HELLO! India Art Awards.

Looking back at the beginning of her art journey, Poddar claims that it was the enthusiasm of her mentors that led her to this passion, “I had some great mentors who took me around and showed me the art of the time and slowly I started to visit exhibitions,” she says. This is something that she feels a majority of young people, not necessarily artists, lack in the country. “There are not enough opportunities for art education in India,” she says, on the challenges faced by the art community in the country. But all’s not bad because the younger artists who are experimenting with new art languages and processes are something that makes her incredibly optimistic about the future of art in the country.

This is something that she feels would also be helped by events like HELLO! India Art Awards. “Since it’s a popular magazine, it will have a wide reach. And it can act as a bridge between the artists and the right clientele for them. It can also act as a medium for a younger generation to become more aware of the art scene in India and encourage them about being involved in any sphere of the art culture in the country which will only help the creative world.”

RPSG Group and HELLO! India are delighted to announce the first-ever HELLO! India Art Awards on April 25 in New Delhi. The awards will felicitate and appreciate the works of established artists, upcoming talent, new media, individual and group exhibitions, galleries that curate and showcase excellent artwork, various mediums of expression, and every domain of artistic excellence there is in India today.

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