Vadodara: After a gloomy year, the art community had just begun getting creative zing back. But the recent spike in Covid cases has again brought a pall of gloom on the art market. Art galleries in the city have begun cancelling or postponing the exhibitions that were to be held over next two months. And the artists feel that it would take months for the situation to normalize.
“There was a buzz in the art market over the last few months. We were organizing exhibitions and art lovers were walking in for the shows. But now we won’t be organizing any more shows as the cases of Coronavirus are on rise again. The exhibitions that were planned have already been postponed,” said Hitesh Rana of Sarjan Art Gallery.
“The second wave of Covid will have a lasting impact on the art market that is already facing a crisis,” Rana told TOI. The city had seen several exhibitions on a variety of themes and many of them including the one held on Women’s Day saw a good footfall. “We had organized an exhibition on Lord Shiva on the occasion of Maha Shivratri. We got a good response as out of the 14 artworks on display, nine got sold. But the Covid cases suddenly shot up over the last few days and people are now scared to come out in public places. Also many of them won’t invest in artworks,” said Jyoti Arora who owns Splatter Studio.
Vinod Daroz, a prominent ceramic artist, said, “We have a show planned in Mumbai this month but the spike in Covid cases has left all of us worried. If the situation doesn’t improve, the art community will suffer again. Especially the young artists who haven’t been able to display their works for a year. I think it will take several months for the situation to normalize.”