Milestones in the art world

It would be hard to look at 2024 in isolation. Threads from 2023 have woven their way into 2024, at least within the arts ecosystem.

- Avantika Bhuyan

The mode of expansion continued, with existing galleries and institutions moving into fresh spaces, and newer names being added to the contemporary arts community. 2024 was a landmark year for leading galleries as well as artists with the centenary of K.G. Subramanyan, F.N. Souza, Ram Kumar, V.S. Gaitonde and Mohan Samant. The second half of 2024 began like a symphony but ended as an overdone crescendo with December being absolutely packed with cultural events, including new additions such as the Bengal Biennale.

Invisibilised histories of marginalised communities became more visible, with work by artists such as Vikrant Bhise, Siddhesh Gautam and Sajan Mani being showcased. However, some felt art could have served as a braver lens to contemplate conflict in Gaza, Ukraine and closer home in Manipur. Barring a few examples, there was a certain degree of silence, which Mumbai-based cultural theorist Ranjit Hoskote found inexplicable. "It's hard to believe that Indian art has nothing to say on something as cataclysmic as the ongoing genocide and wars. Previous generations of Indian artists would have responded to these events for sure. This startling absence of response, an inward-looking approach, and withdrawal from a broader public exchange has been rather disappointing," he says.

As a new year dawns, Lounge looks back at the hits and misses of 2024.

WOMEN AND BELONGING

Certain trends that had been in the making for the past two to three years, achieved a certain degree of maturity in 2024, and that included the feminist gaze on the lives of women. The female figure from everyday scenes had been long missing from the canvas. Artists like Varunika Saraf, Soma Das and Baaraan Ijlal have documented everyday experiences-big and small-in women's lives, be it their response to politics, grief, leisure, or community.