From 26th February till 4th March, UB City mall and 15 independent galleries organized 'Art Bengaluru', an extraordinary show case of arts in the most exclusive location in Bangalore for 7 consecutive days. The opening ceremony brought more than 350 people scattered all around the mall. Leading Bangalore artists officially opened the show. Yusuf Arakkal, Balan Nambiar, Vasudev, CF John, Murali Cheeroth, and Babu Ishwar Prassad enjoyed the first evening with the city art lovers.

Young and old galleries displayed over 500 works, mostly paintings, sculptures and photographs worth from a few thousand rupees up to a few lakhs. We could see an interesting merge of young artists displaying for the first time and known artists testing an audience they are not used to. In the mall, shoppers and art lovers could stop and chat with artists trying to explain their works, their content, the association of colours and symbolism. We could spot Gyanesh Mishra explaining the Mexican ancestral technique that he uses to gold plate his copper and iron alloy sculptures. We could listen to RS Sheelvanth explaining the background symbols on his canvases and the striking colours he particularly appreciates. There were many artists looking for opportunities to meet gallery owners and convince them to organize shows.

The facilitators, UB City and Art Chutney, organized a kids drawing competition. Over 150 kids gathered on a nice Sunday morning to show their talents or just have a good time with the artists who were present. It was a very refreshing moment. Established artists should not forget that the next generation is up and coming! Paresh Hazra's short movie 'Gali' on the streets of Kolkata was shown during a great evening at the outdoor amphitheatre and most of the viewers were amazed by some of the narrow streets (and that is an understatement) which the people of Kolkata are using.

To make it complete, a debate was organized between gallery owners, art experts, and art lovers. They discussed the very heated subject of art as an investment. Sarah Arakkal well articulated the fact that for gallery owners, art is a business. They obviously need to spot good talents but at the end of the day, they need to sell them. Many reminded that art is primarily a very selfish behaviour. Collectors buy what they like. If their own hedonistic pleasure becomes a good investment, that is a nice 'extra'. But that is not to be the initial objective.

Overall, Art Bengaluru was a wonderful event. Galleries sold a few works and made a lot of new contacts who usually do not come to them. Let us take this event as a great effort to expose more and more people to art and maybe develop the art buyers' community. There is no age limit and no minimum sum of money to belong to it. Art is for everyone. UB City intends to repeat its success next year and we wish them all the best.