India's rich artforms don't get their due. Can something be done? How can we leverage tech & in particular blockchain to bring Indian vernacular arts to the mainstream & help artists get their due share?
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Journeys, moods, talents & techniques have been brought together
on a canvas by many a great minds
The world has known many great artists who have displayed perfection through their colors & medium.
Tyeb Mehta
M F Hussain
Leonardo da Vinci
Edvard Munch
India
India
Italy
Norway
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India too has its unique tribe of dreamers & creators
Artists in India have been creating extraordinary masterpieces for centuries with the unique techniques passed on over generations.
MADHUBANI
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India too has its unique tribe of dreamers & creators
Artists in India have been creating extraordinary masterpieces for centuries with the unique techniques passed on over generations.
GOND ART
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India too has its unique tribe of dreamers & creators
Artists in India have been creating extraordinary masterpieces for centuries with the unique techniques passed on over generations.
WARLI ART
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India too has its unique tribe of dreamers & creators
Artists in India have been creating extraordinary masterpieces for centuries with the unique techniques passed on over generations.
KALAMKARI
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India too has its unique tribe of dreamers & creators
Artists in India have been creating extraordinary masterpieces for centuries with the unique techniques passed on over generations.
AND MANY MORE FORMS OF FOLK & TRIBAL ART
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But do these creations see the light of the day?
Attempts have been made to support these artists in the past- but do they offer value for their sweat?
Employment as daily
wage workers-
with NGOs, leading
fashion designers, &
fashion houses, earning on
an average INR 10K-20K
per month
Participation in melas,
trade fairs, exhibitions-
price of an artwork ranges
anywhere from INR 200 to
INR 5K
New age Ecommerce
portals selling paintings-
price of an artwork ranges
anywhere from INR 500 to
INR 5K
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✓ Most initiatives today are targeted at generating a meagre source of income for these artists
✓ Artists are not celebrated and their art is sold as a mere commodity
✓ Moreover, most of these paintings fail to attract any buyers
Traditional Indian arts are dying with artists being forced to choose other low-wage employment
to sustain their families
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But the global art market depicts a different sentiment
Where on one hand the mesmerizing Indian tribal & folk paintings are struggling to catch the art lover’s attention, their contemporaries are
attracting huge investments
Orange, Red, Yellow by
Mark Rothko – sold for
$86.9 Million at Christie’s
Yellow & Blue by Rothko - sold for $46 Million
Untitled by Bollywood actor Salman
Khan- sold for ~INR 2 Cr
Untitled by Cy Twombly (blackboard covered in
scribbles) – sold for $70 Million
Mahishasura
by Tyeb
Mehta- sold
for INR 20 Cr
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Indian artists face a double whammy- their creations are copied by
some of the most renowned designers & studios across the globe
Neither do these artists get credit for their creations nor any share in the revenue earned by the large fashion houses & design studios.
Collections by renowned fashion designers such as
Manish Arora sell for some hundred thousand dollars &
upwards at leading fashion weeks across the globe.
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Recent examples of Plagiarism
Article published in Times Of India on Jan 28, 2018
✓ Delhi-based independent design studio ‘People Tree’
alleged that European luxury giant Dior had copied an
original block print that they created.
✓ The dress was part of a Dior collection launched last
year, and actor Sonam Kapoor wore the distinctive
yoga print on the cover of a fashion magazine this
year.
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Recent examples of Plagiarism
Article published in Times Of India
on May 13, 2018
✓ ”When we created the motif, we
had hand-drawn it and it was
hand-embroidered on jackets,
while this Indian ethnic wear brand
is recreating the motif as a digital
print.” - designer Rahul Mishra
✓ The designer discovered that the
motif has been copied by a French
brand too.
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Recent examples of Plagiarism
Article published in Times Of India
on June, 30, 2018
✓ ”When we created the motif, we
had hand-drawn it and it was
hand-embroidered on jackets,
while this Indian ethnic wear brand
is recreating the motif as a digital
print.” - designer Rahul Mishra
✓ The designer discovered that the
motif has been copied by a French
brand too.
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How the art market works
Dynamics of the art market
Creator Middleman
Institution Consumer
Key Stakeholders
1. Creators & Artists
2. Middlemen- Art dealers, Art galleries, Experts, Auction houses, Online
marketplaces
3. Institutions- Museums, Public art galleries, academic or non-profit
organizations
4. Consumers- Art connoisseurs, art collectors, industrialists, investors
✓ All stakeholders are co-dependent. If we remove anyone from the equation,
the art world would not be able to function.
Innovators
Early Adopters
Early Majority
Late Majority
Time
Adoption
Art Adoption Curve
- Museums
- Art Connoisseurs & Collectors
- Art Galleries
& Dealers
- Investors & Buyers
✓ Museums are the trendsetters and Art Connoisseurs
& Collectors the influencers
✓ Their actions & purchases are closely followed by art
galleries & dealers in order to decipher new trends &
artists
✓ Art galleries then pick up on these trends & exploit their
position of opinion leadership to sell these art works to
buyers & investors
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Key Challenges faced by the art world today
Pressing issues that have plagued the art world all these years
Lack of Provenance
Provenance is the chronology or sequence of a
painting’s formal ownership, custody & location. It
is basically the story behind a work of art. It is the
authoritative record of that work of arts history.
✓ Strong provenance means a complete list of
owners along with documented proof from the
artist through to the present time- exhibitions,
illustrations or mentions in print, whether it was
in private hands, or bought from a dealer,
auction records etc.
✓ Lack of proper documentation by art galleries &
dealers results in incomplete provenance
Why is Provenance important?
✓ Very few paintings today can be linked back to
the original artist
✓ Many a times, paintings with questionable
provenance are attributed to a painter-
Forgeries are widespread
✓ Strong provenance can appreciate the value
of a painting
✓ Incomplete provenance can raise serious
legal questions, reducing the chance of a sale
✓ Artists today have no mechanism to claim
copyright for their work
1 Lack of standardized
Authentication Process
2 Inefficient Pricing
3
Art authentication process is a combination of
Historical research (Provenance) + Stylistic
analysis (style & technique) + Scientific analysis
(pigment analysis etc.)
✓ No standards exist due to lack of any
regulation
✓ Results can vary depending on the equipment
used, & skills of the operators
✓ Not a foolproof process; results are subjective-
at best an opinion of the person conducting
the process
✓ Results can be easily manipulated due to
vested interests
Why do we need a foolproof
authentication process?
✓ In case of an incomplete provenance, the
paintings are subjected to an authentication
process to confirm the original artist
✓ This is critical to identify an original
painting in a market where forgeries are
rampant
Art is a non-standardized commodity & its
value depends on individual tastes & is
incapable of efficient pricing
✓ It is based on approval of a handful of art
connoisseurs, critics, galleries & museums
✓ Galleries can therefore apply differential
pricing based on the client’s utility
✓ Galleries also usually despise art auctions
since price of a painting becomes public
knowledge & there are no inherent controls
on who can bid for the painting
✓ In case a gallery overprices its painting at
an auction & it does not sell at that price
point, the price cannot not be lowered. Any
reduction in the price would send a wrong
signal on the credibility of the gallery & the
artist.
Why do we need to bring transparency
in art sales?
✓ Art market is opaque- both prices &
buyers are decided by art galleries &
dealers in secrecy
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The challenges are aggravated due to the unorganized nature of the
market
Art market is dominated by many small & unorganized players operating as middlemen
Global art market in 2017: $64 billion
Auction
Houses
37%
Art Galleries
& Art Dealers
63%
Global sales in the art market- 2017
Of these transactions,
60% were done by just
10 auction houses
Small, fragmented,
& unorganized
players
✓ 80% of the art galleries & art dealers are single operators with no
employees
✓ The most common form of record keeping used here is pen and paper.
They do not have the knowledge or resources to maintain a database for
long term record keeping.
✓ Even in auction houses, there is no requirement for accuracy since the
art industry is unregulated
So while the art market is strong financially the art world as a whole
suffers because of a lack of transparency and the disconnect that
happens between artists and their works.
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Characteristics that define the art market in general & the vernacular
art market in particular
Highly
Unorganized
Completely
Unregulated
No
Standardization
✓ Many small players
acting as middlemen
who operate in silos
✓ Small galleries &
dealers lack resources
✓ No public record of
transactions completed
No Copyright
on original
artwork
No Marketing
channel for
artists & their
artwork
✓ Missing or incomplete
provenance
✓ No mechanism to link
back an artwork to
the original artist
✓ Widespread forgeries
& plagiarism
✓ Lack of a level
playing field for small
artists
✓ Lack of appreciation
for traditional art &
new upcoming artists
✓ Buying/ investment
decisions influenced
by a small section of
the industry
✓ Opaque market
✓ No regulations
✓ Lack of transparency
✓ Lack of a standardized
art authentication
process
✓ No standard &
transparent pricing
mechanism
✓ Value of an artwork can
be easily manipulated
by a few
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Our Proposal to change the status quo
Blockchain Ledger
(Digital & Permanent Records)
Smart Contracts
Blockchain Technology
Complete & Accurate
Provenance
Marketing &
Branding
(Critique on the
artist & his
artwork by
experts)
Artists
Exhibition
platform for
traditional &
new upcoming
artworks
Direct Sales
Digital Auctions
Buyers
&
Investors
Copyright
Protection
100%
transparency
in all sales
No middlemen- single
platform for all transactions
100% Authentic
& Original
artwork
Increased
sales
Right Value
for artwork
Price of an artwork
determined by buyers
based on the value the
artist & the artwork holds
for the buyer
Own Identity
for artists
Price determined
by the artist
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Celebrating Artists. Creating Identities.
Artists get value for their
sweat-
o Their artwork is no longer
sold as a commodity in a
consumer market
o The real value of an
artwork is best determined
by the value the artwork
brings to the life of a
person buying that
creation
Artists get an identity of
their own-
o Artists no longer remain
unknown
o Level playing field for
small artists
o Artists get recognized
by their name. Their
name becomes a
brand.
Artists get copyright
protection for their
creations-
o Protection from any &
all forms of plagiarism
o Foolproof evidence to
prove copyright
violation
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Presenting Indian artists on a global stage in an open market
Bringing Indian art & artists a better tomorrow!
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What does the future hold?
The possibilities for the artists are far and wide.
Partnerships, Alliances & Co-
branding
o Tie-ups with global fashion
houses & design studios
o Movie Production houses &
art directors for requirements
for movie sets
o Luxury Furniture & Interior
design brands
o Any brand that wishes to use
an artwork as a design
Limited edition copies
o Serigraphs of the original
artwork by an artist identified
by a unique number. This is a
great way to tap todays
millennials who wish to buy &
invest in art but lack deep
pockets.
o Limited edition copies of an
artwork can be created & sold
to create a sense of exclusivity
among buyers. Each edition
can be tracked with a unique
code on the blockchain.
Alternate Asset fund
o An alternate asset fund can
be created in the future to
invest in Indian art
o The idea is to promote art as
an investment asset among
young investors
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Other lines for extension
Visual Design
o Architecture
o Sculpture
o Art Installations
o Fashion
o Product
o Interiors
The solution can be extended to any and every form of visual & performing arts- Indian & global
Music
o Folk music
o Classical music
o Contemporary music
o Instrumentals
o Music videos
Dance
o Choreography
o Dance forms
o Dance videos
Culinary
o Recipes
o Ingredients
o Techniques
All tangible & intangible national, modern & contemporary heritage
Literature
o Books
o Articles
o Poems
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About Me
Swati Jain
▪ 10 years of work experience across Consulting,
Strategy & Venture Capital
▪ Art Enthusiast
▪ Exploring all things Arts + Tech
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Art Market statistics
42%
Sales by value in USA, the
largest market worldwide,
followed by China (21%) & UK
(20%)
USD 63.7B
Sales in global art market in
2017, up 12% from 2016
1%
Of artists whose works were
offered at auctions accounted
for nearly two-thirds of the total
auction sales
USD 14.6B
Indian art market in 2017; a
decline of 6% from 2016 due to
demonetization
64%
Share of art galleries in India in
2017
2.5%
Forecasted share of Indian art
in global auction sales in 2018,
up from 1.5% in 2017
125%
Increase from 2016 in total sales
value of works sold for over $10
million at auctions
36%
Share of auction houses in
India in 2017
Source: Report by UBS & Art Basel, Report by FICCI-KPMG
