subject: Modern Yet Contemporary [print this page] Modern Yet Contemporary Modern Yet Contemporary
Durva Gandhi, founder and director, Breathe Arts launched her company, an online portal that showcases modern and contemporary Indian art in 2010. Gandhi was in the field of designs and art and saw the opportunity coming to create something unique and thus, started the portal. "We chose online because it has the power to reach out to many people;
also, we are not restricted by geographical boundaries. Today, people have less time to visit "physical" galleries and
worldwide and popularize the consumption of Indian art with international audiences, art buyers and art enthusiasts," says Harlalka. But Artflute was launched at the beginning of the economic downturn and that itself was a challenge for Harlalka
and her team. "However, our passion and domain expertise have seen us through the worst economic downturn. We used the time to build a repertoire of artists and content, which are vital to a site like ours, to offer choices that would appeal to
varied audiences along with a collection of over 980 artist and 4800 works of Indian art," explains Harlalka. "We the online space can be considered as a better option," feels Gandhi. However, her journey wasn't devoid of any hurdles, "The medium (online) itself was a challenge. There were many inhibitions earlier and people were apprehensive to view arts online. There were concerns w.r.t the authenticity of the portal etc," explains Gandhi. However, Gandhi and her team overcame these hurdles by their business strategies. "We reached out to people through our newsletters and arranged for viewings and ensured guarantee and authenticity of our portal. We invited curators from different parts of the world to curate
shows online and continue to do so. There is a layer of transparency in terms of pricing and sales. We have a robust marketing and sales team who build a global network," adds Gandhi. Today, Gandhi and her team are helping people to
make informed choices about art through her portal.
