There's a hope in Nepali art market

The art industry is a creative platform where the worth of a work of art is defined such thing as the correct price for an artwork. An art piece is determined by the amount of time spent on it, the complexity of the work required, and the amount of effort put into it. You look at it, and what you see and believe is the proper price is how much time an artist has spent on the work, as well as the artist's position.

According to Hari Khadka (executive member, National Art Council), who has been working in the art industry for over 50-55 years, the art market in Nepal has evolved significantly in comparison to the past.

Also highlighted how the art market in Nepal was influenced by Covid-19, and how following Covid-19 we must recognize that markets are interrelated, and if one area is damaged, it tends to have a ripple effect on other industries, including art, since the art industry is still in its early phases. There has been incremental progress, but artists continue to struggle to sell their work due to a tiny pool of purchasers. Every year, the National Art Council (NAC) organizes an art exhibition program in order to increase the number of people who visit the exhibition and promote Nepali art throughout Nepal, as tourism is thriving and the art gallery is popular even among visitors.

Nepali art progressed through several stages. There is a transition from religious to secular, objective to subjective, exterior to internal, others to self, referential to abstract, and so on. Symbolism was present in the earliest arts and buildings. They represented something yet meant something another. They have didactic values, which means they impart moral teachings. They are mysterious and magical because they are religious. Even in death, the deities and human beings have young bodies. The artworks are anthropomorphic in the sense that the divinities are shown in human form and represent human emotions. 

Manuscript illumination, Paubha, mandala, Pata (narrative scroll painting), and wall painting are early types of Nepali painting. Architecture included a pagoda temple, a Shikhara-style temple, a stupa, and a monastery.

According to Khadka, there is a high demand for both Thangka and Paubha paintings throughout the world, but particularly in nations like China and Bhutan. Paubha are traditional religious paintings created by the Newar community that feature deities, mandalas, or monuments and are used to aid the practitioner in meditation. Thangka is the Tibetan term for the same thing. But based on his knowledge of the market, he also stated that it is more encouraging for modern art than it is for traditional art, and that this is because current art is more reasonably priced than traditional art.

Speaking about the Nepali art market's future, Khadka said, "The more we support nepali art and artists, the better it will be. There is a hope that Nepali art gets attention, and that international people recognize the value and worth of Nepali art, and the market price will rise in line with that."