Lisa Ray has added another label to her already long list, that of actress, model, author, philanthropist and social activist. She is the force behind the recently launched curator-led digital art and NFT (non-fungible token) platform, TheUpsideSpace – bringing a new generation of artists from South, East and West Asia to the centre. Ahead of their premiere at Art Dubai (March 1-5), we catch up with Zoom.
Lisa Ray | Photo credit: Trisha Sarang
I notice that the walls of her Dubai home are covered in art, including works by Jogen Chowdhury and Suhas Roy. “I have loved art since I was a teenager. I remember using my first model check, when I was about 18, to buy a piece of art [points to a work by C. Bhagyanath],” Ray says, admitting that she would take the collection from house to house, “across Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai and Dubai,” because they were essential to her well-being. Now, after more than 30 years of collecting South Asian art (she admits to having a soft spot for the Bengal School), she wants to give back to the community, with an “inviting” digital art space.
However, the hard truth is that TheUpsideSpace was launched in the shadow of the crypto downturn. And while the collapse has inevitably colored NFTs and digital art — Indian and international collectors remain speculative — it’s a growing segment. Artists like Raghava KK and Harshit Agarwal lead the market; The India Art Fair, both in 2022 and 2023, allocated special pavilions for NFTs; while curators such as Myna Mukherjee showcase interesting exhibitions. Ray believes the market will stabilize soon.
UBIK’s Camera cloud
| Photo credit: TheUpsideSpace
Bandana Tewari | Photo credit: TheUpsideSpace
“Any kind of innovation, after a big boom, sees a trajectory of skepticism. This happened with the internet in the 90s. The fact is, whether we like it or not, all the facts point to our lives becoming more virtual in the near future. Hence virtual assets [art and even real estate] will be legitimate acquisitions. The Metaverse will turn fantasy into reality. I guess with AI, VR, crypto, NFTs and the monstrous rise of gaming, NFTs will simply have to be more engaging, cool, community based and exclusive. The incremental increase in value added associated with NFTs will be critical to its survival. We are already seeing this phenomenon taking place.”Bandana TewariAuthor, sustainability activist
Modern drive
Ray, 50, co-founded the platform with Singapore-based art collector and philanthropist Ayesha Khan. The two connected during the first days of the pandemic, in Singapore. Like other expatriates, they had a desire to make contemporary regional art more accessible to a global audience, and to “update and modernize the art world” while leveraging Web3 technology. “Despite the challenges, it’s a space that has a lot of potential and we felt it needed to be explored. This technology is the next step in the conversation around authenticity, provenance, engagement and royalty in art.”
While NFT marketplaces abound worldwide, Ray and Khan were clear that their platform would be curated. “NFTs and digital art are the vehicles for a new audience and that will transform the art ecosystem. Curators will become the guides for artists to reach out to a global audience across platforms,” she says. While their roster has well-known artists like Seema Kohli, Ranbir Kalekar, Waswo x Waswo and Sarnath Banerjee, it also has an equal mix of new names like visual artist Siddhant Vernekar.
Sarnath Banerjee KGB
| Photo credit: TheUpsideSpace
Seema Kohli’s Gagan Mein Thaal
| Photo credit: TheUpsideSpace
Supplementary – Reality | Photo credit: TheUpsideSpace
TheUpsideSpace includes an online art lab, a maker studio, and an inclusive community for discovery and discourse. It features both traditional visual artists, new to NFTs, and new media artists looking to expand the reach of their experimental art. “With the introduction of artworks and performers, the online space can grow together with the physical art space, more holistically. We have upcoming exhibitions with Patachitra artists; we want to extend this reach to artisans and traditional arts as well,” she adds, explaining that because traditional artists may find it daunting to create their own NFTs, they will also introduce phygital (a combination of physical and digital) art to attract the Web2 audience.
An open invitation
“We use the Ethereum blockchain, which has become much greener. I’m not saying it’s not a bit like the Wild West, with risks involved, but we’ve gone through [several] iterations and a crypto winter.” TheUpsideSpace accepts credit cards, cash and crypto because, as Ray says, “We give our buyers options. We try to make it as easy as possible to own and enjoy art, along with the representation of getting it out there and a seat at the table. »
Harsimran Juneja’s Growing invertebrates from Mobocracy x Democracy | Photo credit: TheUpsideSpace
De-labelling is also important
Having a household name like Ray at the helm is sure to help open doors. Recent tie-ups such as a collaboration with Latitude 28 (for the show Mobocracy x Democracy curated by Priyanshi Saxena) and their outing at Art Dubai are examples. Her influence can also be seen in the selection of curators – from actor-artist Kelly Dorji, to Mukherjee of EnGendered, a transnational art and human rights organization, and White Noise, an NFT-based art effort founded by Hari Pilaka, Parth Taco & Sajid Wajid Shaikh, to writer-sustainability activist Bandana Tewari. “People from other industries lead to cross-pollination,” says Ray. “We are all about labeling [an actor who is also a curator, for instance] and marking.”
Kelly Dorji; and Little blue pill from the model artist’s Play divine series
One is naturally curious to see what a curator like Bhutanese actress-model Kelly Dorji will bring to the table. “Kelly is an unknown gem. He has a creative understanding, he has his own gallery, and is a famous painter in Bhutan. So it will be interesting to see what he comes up with [in one of TheUpsideSpace’s upcoming shows] because Bhutanese artists are only getting exposure,” Ray says, adding, “like Zimbiri, who has an art expression that hasn’t been seen or celebrated enough – even though she’s represented by Nature Morte and has shown in exhibitions abroad. She has painted modern interpretations of Bhutanese iconography.” The show will also include a classical Thanka painted by a Bhutanese monk, which may be “the first classical Bhutanese painting to be sold in the NFT space”.
The author is a critic-curator by day, and visual artist by night.
