For 13 years now, Experimenter has discovered, honed and showcased some of the best contemporary art that is to be offered and, more importantly, have taken that art to places as they have now become one of the most important galleries in the country. Since then, they have expanded to two physical spaces, along with a robust programming, which includes a fund for artists and a new art residency. While travelling the world as they show some of the best art from the subcontinent, they strive to develop an ecosystem that promotes the art, which also explains their multipronged approach towards showcasing it. For Priyanka and Prateek Raja, contemporary art is not just about “art” but also about holding a mirror to society — a sense of responsibility that they handle wisely. Fresh from a powerful collective showcase at Sadie Coles HQ in London, Priyanka and Prateek looked back at the time gone by over an email chat. Excerpts:
Thirteen years on, what is Experimenter’s approach to art and how has that evolved over the years?
Our approach to the work we do is always evolving and influenced by the times we are in, and such is the nature of contemporary art, since our programme must reflect the contemporary moment, but the core of what we do, remains rooted to exactly where we started at the very beginning. We are committed to represent the most path-breaking and challenging practices of artists who, through their work, question the times we live in, hold a mirror to society and possibly provide a clue to where we are headed. Oftentimes, these practices push boundaries that seem to bind our social and mental constructs and confront the viewer with uncomfortable questions, dilemmas and paradoxes of truth, fiction and falsehood. We are always looking to build constructive dialogue and conversation, open up to possibilities of debate and build a programme that focusses on discourse and learning, and thereby transform the gallery from a passive space for viewing to an active space of knowledge-building and experience.
What keeps you excited about the work you do, especially through challenging times such as the pandemic?
The pandemic made us introspect, reconsider our priorities and re-energise ourselves as would have most people. We focussed on work that truly impacted our community and helped artists sustain their practice. To realise this, we launched Experimenter Labs (www.experimenter.in/labs/) in April 2022, early in the pandemic, of which Generator Co-operative Art Production Fund is the cornerstone amongst a range of other expansions of our programme. What keeps us excited is the possibility of realising projects for our artists, some of which are ambitious and challenging and span global logistics and exhibition requirements that are daunting. To make these possibilities come alive is exciting. The other most exciting aspect that keeps us going is that particular moment when our viewers at the galleries and at the exhibitions we present, connect with the work we show, somehow a magical moment is created and we truly enjoy that interaction. And finally, studio visits and our interactions with our artists are the most exciting parts of our work.
What are some of the things that you will rank as achievements and things that have taught you a lesson?
The pandemic was one of the greatest lessons for everyone, I guess. It showed us the fragility of our eco-system, the fragmented and disparate lives we lead, and the insular nature of our pursuits towards what we aim for. We realised how distant we have become from each other in the pursuit of individual goals. On the upside it also showed us remarkable examples of collective action, of human resilience and the fact that we all are co-dependent and cannot sustain our actions and goals in isolation from each other. It also made us understand the value of working for a wider community and creating impactful programming for our galleries as well as outside for a future generation. I think we appreciate better, the crucial need to build sustainable partnerships and the pursuit of learning and knowledge-building through our work.
In terms of achievements, we can only measure our achievements from the point of view of how our artists are doing, how their work is being received and how they are breaking through across the spectrum of the global art scene. From major exhibitions like the Venice Biennale to significant awards like the Turner Prize to solo exhibitions at some of the most prestigious museums of the world, our artists are being seen, read, heard and discussed. That brings to us great satisfaction.
Another development that we are really proud of is the International Galleries Alliance (www.international-galleries-alliance.org ) that we set up with a small group of leading galleries during the pandemic, which is the first ever coming together of the most important galleries from all over the world that shows the impact the contemporary art world can bring through cooperative work. The other achievement we are very proud of is the Generator Cooperative Art Production Fund (www.experimenter.in/labs/generator/) that was created by Experimenter in collaboration with its artists and friends. The fund awards several production bursaries of varying amounts through the year towards the realisation of artists’ projects. Open to all visual artists, irrespective of the medium of practice, there are no limitations concerning age, region or provenance of the applicant. If a visual artist has a project that needs a stimulus of funds for completion or needs seed-funding or basic financial support, Generator will help them continue their practice. It is entirely collaborative, collegial and is built by fostering friendship and care at its core, inverting the structure of power dynamics that come with grants and production bursaries.
As gallerists and curators, how have your roles evolved in the last 13 years?
We have essentially remained rooted to where we began 13 years ago. We have not changed fundamentally in terms of our aim to work with the most forward thinking, challenging practitioners of our times, especially those that hold a mirror to our society. We like to confront our audiences with the complexities that make up our world and ask questions, sometimes uncomfortable ones that are indicators of the contemporaneous moment. We have continued to do just that with our exhibitions and extended programming. The challenges and projects we undertake have, of course, continued to grow and have become more ambitious, traversing across geographies and time, which is an exciting aspect of our work. The responsibilities have also grown with a larger number of artists in our programme and with the wider reach our artists’ works have all over the world. The nature of our work revolves around being a true representative of our artists’ work and the evolution of artistic practices across various stages of their careers, which means that we have to be their voices simultaneously everywhere.
What are you most excited about in the coming year?
We are excited about several things. We just opened a landmark collaborative exhibition in London on May 11, titled Conversations on Tomorrow, that was led between four Indian galleries (Chemould Prescott Road, Jhaveri Contemporary, Vadehra Art Gallery and Experimenter), presented at Sadie Coles HQ, which is a leading London gallery and one of the most important galleries in the world. It shows the true power of friendships, camaraderie and cooperation in our world, a first of its kind in recent times. This is also something that we spoke about at the inception of the International Galleries Alliance and it’s great to see it take shape. We open a fantastic series of exhibitions across our galleries in Kolkata, introducing some really incredible practitioners such as Bhasha Chakrabarti and Aziz Hazara through our programme, and also bring to the city, milestone solo exhibitions this year by our artists such as Bani Abidi and CAMP among others.
Later this year we will also begin Experimenter Residency, which is a purpose-built artist studio and residency in Kolkata and will be fully functional in the second half of the year. What we are very excited about this year is the expansion of our gallery, which we will share in due course of time. It is a busy and hugely ambitious year for us, and we look forward to unravelling our plans, over the coming months.
Pictures: Rashbehari Das