Second edition of ‘Contemporary Now’: How Chennai is building a new art collector base

Being held across two floors of the recently renovated Lalit Kala Akademi, the expanded edition features 162 artworks by 66 artists from India and abroad. It is significant to note that women visual art practitioners account for nearly half the lineup, and the average age of the participating artists is 47. “The numbers show that it often takes more than two decades for an artist to find recognition at the highest level. You could be 45 years old and still be considered emerging,” shares Ashvin Rajagopalan, founder of Ashvita’s Gallery and Contemporary Now. Some of the featured artists include Anju Dodiya, Jitish Kallat, Jagannath Panda, Reena Saini Kallat, Mithu Sen, LN Tallur, Atul Dodiya Pushpakanthan Pakkiyarajah, Jasmine Nilani Joseph and Radhika Khimji, besides collectives and institutions like the RAQS Media Collective and Chanakya School.