The Bombay Art Society is carrying forward its over 100-year-old legacy by taking its month-long annual exhibition online
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The Bombay Art Society (BAS) was founded in 1888. The following year, they decided to hold an annual exhibition, which eventually became the breeding ground for artists like Amrita Sher-Gil, SH Raza and NS Bendre. The exhibition made its way into the Jehangir Art Gallery when it was inaugurated in 1952, where approximately 300 artworks would be displayed every year, until the pandemic struck. Like most organisations, BAS was compelled to put a halt to the physical event but they didn’t want to discontinue this prestigious tradition. So, the oldest art institution in Asia decided to take it online for the first time.
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The curation process for the exhibition begins with a call for entries and this year, the society received over 3,600 submissions of paintings, sculptures, graphics and photographic work by over 1,500 artists. Out of these, 500 made the cut. “We received a record number of entries — not just from all over India but also Indian artists residing in overseas countries,” Rajendra Patil, president, BAS, shared.
The jury comprised eminent art educators like Anil Naik and Surendra Jagtap, as well as noted sculptors Chandrajit Yadav, Ajinkya Chaulkar and Vikrat Manjrekar. There is no specific theme for the artworks on display, Patil says. Out of the 500 artworks, 50 have been awarded special prizes, too. Since many artists are keen to have their work displayed with BAS, Patil informs that there is another online exhibition in the making. “We used to have a monsoon show which was limited to BAS members but now we thought that the monsoon show can be converted into an annual show where we will invite entries as well,” he says.
Till: April 25
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