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Categories and Nominees

(Click on each category for its nominees list)

1. Young Collector of the Year

The Young Collector of the Year Award aims at recognizing an art collector under the age of 50 who has made mark with his or her collection of Indian art. The award aims at rewarding a young collector who has shown consistent insight, artistic understanding and risk taking ability. The Criteria for the Young Collector of the Year Award are

  • Has collected significant artworks in varied media
  • Promote experimental and cutting-edge works
  • Has been a dedicated patron, playing an active part in the country’s art scene with their own ventures
  • Risk taking ability


Nominees for Young Collector of the Year:

  • Anurag Khanna

  • Ashiesh Shah

  • Rajeeb and Nadia Samdani

  • Jai Danani

  • Radhika Chopra and Rajan Anandan

2. Contemporary Gallery of the Year (Exhibiting Young Artists)

The Award for Contemporary Gallery of the year aims at recognizing a gallery that has been in existence for 10 years or less. The award will recognize the merits of the gallery space, gallery practices, support to artists and contribution to the art scene. The criteria for Contemporary Gallery of the year are:

  • Dedication to the promotion of emerging artists
  • Gallery’s support for multidisciplinary work of young Indian and international artists
  • Organizing events that foster dialogue between artists, critics, writers, curators
  • Participation in art fairs


Nominees for Contemporary Gallery of the Year (Exhibiting Young Artists)

  • Project 88, Mumbai

  • Experimenter, Kolkata

  • Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai

  • Gallery Maskara, Mumbai

  • Chatterjee&Lal, Mumbai

  • Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai

3. Gallery of the Year

The Gallery of the Year Award goes to an established art gallery that has been in continuous existence for more than 10 years. The award recognizes the gallery’s contribution to artists, patrons, art education and the cause of Indian art. The criteria for evaluation are:

  • Representation of mid-career to established artists
  • Role and involvement as facilitators and promoters of Indian art
  • Participation in art fairs
  • Partnerships with institutions/museums and organization of large-scale exhibitions
  • Their role as a locus through which artworks reach wider audience
  • Publications
  • Outreach programmes

Nominees for Gallery of the Year

  • Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai

  • Nature Morte, New Delhi

  • GallerySKE, Bangalore & New Delhi

  • Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

  • Talwar Gallery, New Delhi & New York

  • Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai

4. Not-for-Profit Art Initiative of the Year

The NFP award goes to an outstanding initiative by a person or organization that is conducted sans the profit motive. The award recognizes contributions to the art world in the areas of outreach, education, residencies, research, grants and any other activity that promotes the cause of Indian art either in India or globally. The criteria for evaluation are:

  • Encouragement, promotion and support for innovative work in the field of visual arts
  • Offering of awards, grants, fellowship programmes
  • Organization of outreach programmes
  • Encouragement for research
  • The fostering of interactions between artists, curators, scholars, writers in a local and global context.

Nominees for Not-for-Profit Art Initiative of the Year

  • The Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA), New Delhi

  • India Foundation for the Arts (IFA), Bangalore

  • Creative India Foundation (CIF), Hyderabad

  • 1Shanthiroad, Bangalore

  • Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation, Mumbai

  • Sunaparanta-Goa Centre for the Arts (SGCFA)

5. Corporate Commitment to Art

The Award for Corporate Commitment to Art will go to a for-profit organization that has shown enduring and consistent commitment to the cause of Indian Art. This commitment can be in the form of corporate collections, financial support or public art commissions. The criteria are:

  • Promote art
  • Foster young talent
  • Commission artwork/site-specific works

Nominees for Corporate Commitment to Art:

  • Yes Bank

  • Deutsche Bank

  • GVK

  • JSW, Jindal Group

  • Maker Maxity

  • Apeejay Surrendra Group

6. Auction of the Year

The Auction of the Year Award goes to the year’s best conducted auction. The award recognizes best practices in auctioneering, transparency and total hammer price. The criteria for this award are

  • Highest bid made for a modern or contemporary artwork
  • Total hammer price

Nominees for Auction of the Year

  • Pundole - Husain, Works from the Collection of the Late Badrivishal Pitti 17 January 2013, Mumbai

  • Saffronart Summer Online Auction 19-20 June 2013

  • Christies First auction in India, South Asian Art 19 December 2013, Mumbai

  • Sotheby’s The Amaya Collection 9 March 2013, New York

7. Emerging Curator of the Year

The Emerging Curator of the Year Award goes to a young curator under the age of 45. The award aims are recognizing emerging curatorial talent, artistic perspective, research and exhibtion making abilities. The Criteria are:

  • Quality of Curatorial concept
  • Creativity and presence in exhibition-making, research and related writing
  • Contemporary and culturally relevant point of view


Nominees for Emerging Curator of the Year:

  • Latika Gupta

  • Akansha Rastogi, Deeksha Nath and VidyaShivadas

  • Zasha Colah and Sumesh Sharma

  • Diana Campbell Betancourt

  • Himali Singh Soin

  • Shanay Jhaveri

8. Exhibition of Indian art curated on an international stage

This award goes to a ground breaking exhibition of Indian art outside India.


The Nominees are

  • Naman Ahuja - The Body in Indian Art - Europalia, Brussels

  • Sandhini Poddar - Zarina: Paper Like Skin, Guggenheim

  • Raiji Kuroda - Nalini Malani, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum

  • Andi-Asmita Rangari and Loren Hansi Momodu - Word. Sound, Power, Tate Modern, KHOJ

  • Ram Rahman and Jessica Moss - The Sahmat Collective: Art and Activism in India since 1989, Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago

  • Dr. Stephanie Rosenthal - Dayanita Singh, Go Away Closer, Hayward Gallery, London

9. Art Writer of the Year

The Award for Art Writer of the Year goes to a young writer under the age of 45 who has shown remarkable abilities in the realm of art writing, both critical and reviews. The Criteria for this award are:

  • Quality of Critical writing
  • Consistency of Writing


Nominees for Emerging Art Writer of the Year

  • Jyoti Dhar

  • Zeenat Nagree

  • Rosayln D'mello

  • Hemant Sareen

  • Bharti Lalwani

  • Zehra Jumabhoy

10. Solo Show of the year – Debut

The Solo Show of the year Award goes to a young artist under the approximate age of 50 who has made her/his artistic debut with a solo show between January 2012 and December 2013. The criteria for this award are

  • Under 50 years of age
  • Demonstration of outstanding artistic talent.
  • The Use of Contemporary art practices that demonstrate innovative use of form and material, as well as engagement with contemporary culture.


Nominees for Solo Show of the Year – Debut are:

  • Sahej Rahal, Forerunner At Chatterjee and Lal, Mumbai

  • Parul Thacker, Eternal Recurrence At Galerie Mirchandani + Steinrurcke, Mumbai

  • Samanta Batra Mehta, The Other Side of Time At Shrine Empire Gallery, New Delhi

  • Hajra Waheed, Sea Change At Experimenter, Kolkata

11. Contemporary Artist of the Year

The Contemporary Artist of the year Award goes to an experienced artist who has created a significant body of work in 2012-13. The criteria for this award are

  • Strong body of work that shows artistic vision
  • Ability to be an inspiration and role model to other artists in India and abroad
  • Cutting edge art practices that have been showcased in private and public art institutions


Nominees for Contemporary Artist of the Year (Senior Artists)

  • Vivan Sundaram

  • (Late) Nasreen Mohamedi

  • Navjyot Altaf

  • Mrinalini Mukherjee

  • A. Ramachandran

  • Dr. Krishna Reddy


Nominees for Contemporary Artist of the Year (Mid-career Artists)

  • Bharti Kher

  • Atul Dodiya

  • Subodh Gupta

  • Pablo Bartholomew

  • Sheila Makhijani

  • Thukral and Tagra

  • Sooni Taraporevala

Nominees for Contemporary Artist of the Year (Young Artists)

  • Rohini Devasher

  • Neha Choksi

  • Sreshta Rit Premnath

  • Sunoj D

  • Prabhavthi Meppayil

12. Art Entrepreneur of the Year

The Art Entrepreneur of the year goes to one single individual who has built a for profit organization that has made a serious impact in the art industry. The Award looks to recognize the quality of entrepreneurship, quality of leadership and impact of the business on the art industry. The Criteria are

  • Quality of Organization
  • Quality of Leadership
  • Impact on the Art Industry


Nominees for Art Entrepreneur of the Year

  • Neha Kirpal, Founder and Director - India Art Fair

  • Dinesh Vazirani, Founder & CEO of Saffronart

  • Dadiba Pundole, Pundole Art Gallery

13. Art Initiative of the Year

The Art Initiative of the year Award goes to an initiative that has created a remarkable impact on the art world in 2013. This includes initiatives that have made art accessible, that have attempted to bridge the gap between artists and the general public, creating a platform for Indian art or for creating a significant archive of Indian art. The criteria for the award are:

  • Outreach programmes
  • Make art accessible to a larger audience
  • Bridge gap between artist, curators, historian and general public
  • Platform for international artists and galleries


Nominees for Art Initiative of the Year

  • United Art Fair

  • Delhi Photo Festival

  • Art Chennai

  • Phoenix MarketCity

  • Google Art Project