World economy is
undergoing drastic changes. With the shifts and developments affecting the
world on a larger scale, various aspects concerning human behaviour towards
monetary benefits are also evolving. Art, which once used to be personification
of an era brought together, is now promoted as an investment option. The latest
Deloitte Art & Finance Report highlighted that 75% of buyers and collectors
buy art as a form of investment.
But every coin
has a flip side too. There are several art enthusiasts who are trying to
restore the actual value and essence of art across the globe. Amongst them
there is one of the notable philanthropists and founder of Stellar
International Art Foundation, Mrs. Anita Choudhrie who believes that “the value
of art collection as a form of social and cultural expression must not be
underestimated.”
Addressing the
issue, Anita said “Art collection requires patience, passion, interest and
intellectual curiosity. It necessitates taking a more holistic view, to
knowledge that, whilst an art may prove to be a worthy financial investment,
its value extends much further. Though paintings often have a price tag,
art itself is priceless.”
Anita Choudhrie loves to
encourage people to select art pieces for personal interest than financial
motives. . “This is because my personal experience has taught me that, by
collecting a series of artistic works purely out of interest, a buyer begins to
value their collection as more than the sum of its parts.”
Anita explicitly
said, “Part of the reason for such a dramatic change in sentiment is because
during the last few years, the global arts market has achieved an impressive
degree of financial growth. Online art purchases were estimated to reach $4.7
billion in 2015 and the sale of post war and contemporary art fetched their
owners a total of $5.9 billion. Moreover, auction records are broken nearly as
soon as they are made, works by Paul Gaugin and Picasso are fetching over $100m
apiece and according to a recent report by the European Fine Art Foundation
(TEFAF), art market sales reached an astounding $51bn in 2015, the highest
level ever recorded.
“However, what
this also highlights is that art is always more than a financial investment. It
is a cultural investment. In fact, I would be inclined to emphasise the social
and cultural aspects emphasised by the act of collecting.”
Carrying over
600 exclusive art pieces and artefacts, SIAF houses largest private collection
of World of Colours creator Paresh Maity, and the entire Maria series of late
MF Husain.
