Anand and Anand Celebrates World Art Day
08 May 2014
On April 5-6 2011, the 17th General Assembly of the International Association of Art (IAA/AIAP) voted unanimously and declared April 15 – the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci – World Art Day. World Art Day is an international celebration of the fine arts which aids in the spreading of art awareness worldwide.
The words of the late Mahatma Gandhi that “a nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people” hold deeper meaning today when our growing nation looks back and reflects on the last more than six decades of its journey post-Independence. In pursuit of growth, developing countries like ours tend not to reflect upon the simple fact that a nation’s greatness comes not only from its material prosperity but, importantly, through the preservation of its cultural heritage.
As a law firm with a dedicated and substantial practice in copyright laws, it is the belief of Anand and Anand that a resurgent India requires the introduction and practice of a disciplinary regime of laws relating to arts, antiquities and cultural heritage and a corresponding infrastructure to support its implementation. The firm has a committed team of individuals focusing their professional competence to provide legal services to cover the entire gamut of the world of the arts and its various participants, be it the artist, the museum professional, the bureaucrat serving in the administrative Ministry of Culture, the art dealer, the collector, the gallerist or an art conservator.
To take forward this challenging initiative and to mark the occasion of the World Art Day, Anand and Anand hosted a first of its kind interactive session of various participants so as to understand first-hand the issues and concerns that plague the art world.
The guest speakers for the evening represented some of the key constituents of the art world. The discussion between panelists Manisha Gera Baswani (an artist), Aparajita Jain (a gallerist) and Rajiv Savara (an art collector) and the audience was stimulating and allowed us to identify the vacuum that exists in the current Indian laws relating to the world of the arts, antiquities and cultural heritage. While it was recognized that some of the pertinent issues faced in India were those of authenticity disputes and forgeries, for a more holistic development of the field, the importance of mitigation of risk in transactions relating to this fragile and invaluable subject matter was not lost on anyone.
The session concluded with an understanding that India’s legal regime on art is an unfinished canvas and currently faces two broad issues: Ambiguity (in the letter of the law) and ad-hocism (on the part of the authorities). It will be the endeavor of the firm to constantly evolve with the new challenges being faced by the art world and more importantly to preserve the cultural fabric of the nation.
Anand and Anand, which prides itself in always treading the road less travelled, takes this opportunity on World Art Day to introduce its exclusive practice focusing on providing expertise to supporting the requirements of the fraternity of humanities related to arts, antiquities and cultural heritage.
Anand and Anand celebrated World Art Day on April 15 with a panel discussion and displays of local arts, antiquities and cultural heritage.
Anand and Anand
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