Affordable art with investment value by Nalini S Malaviya

Affordable art with investment value by Nalini S Malaviya
The definition of affordable art has changed over the years. Having grown at a furious pace in the last few years, the domestic art market is currently estimated to be around Rs 1,500 crores. And, market sources predict that it is likely to continue its impressive performance, but what is unclear or has an element of ambiguity, is the growth rate.Whether the market grows at the same spectacular rate or not has to be seen. Despite this, most experts feel that domestic art is one of the safest investment options, provided you invest after a thorough research and look at it as a long-term asset.Affordability is surely a relative term. Earlier, one looked at investing Rs 10,000-50,000 on a painting. Prices have now climbed substantially higher and involve more than five digits. A few years ago, you could buy an average-sized work of art that is associated with investment value for less than Rs 1 lakh. Now you would have to spend at least Rs 2 lakhs to pick up one with some investment potential.In fact, those contemporary artists who are considered to be 'safe' in terms of their investment potential are available only above Rs 5 lakhs.

Unfortunately, these high figures can be a major deterrent to those looking at buying an affordable range of art that goes beyond decorative purposes.Galleries and dealers are therefore introducing new artists with attractive pricing to plug the resultant gap in the market. This also helps in broadening the buyer base. At the same time, this bodes well for young artists and promising talent.Students, fresh graduates and artists with 2-3 years experience are in a better position than ever before to sell their artworks. The demand for affordable art ensures that gallery representatives scout actively for reasonably-priced artists and these are then marketed aggressively to create a clientele.

Source: Economic Times