After studying design at Central Saint Martins in London, Amrita Deora possessed a unique blend of commercial acumen and creative sensibility, which inspired her to create The Designera — India's first and only pop art gallery in January 2020.
While talking about how she came up with the idea of The Designera, she said, "It was quite organic. Whenever I used to travel, I used to love seeing pop art. It was just my taste. I came to India and started getting a couple artists to make pop art works. And I had never thought that there wouldn't be a pop art gallery in India. I would have thought for sure someone would have it. I realized nobody's doing it."
Pop art literally means anything that has to do with pop culture. Anything that's relevant you see, symbols that you recognize and you have that instant connect to it because it's part of pop culture. But, I think the definition goes beyond that, and it's anything that's characterized as really young, fun, lively and jovial.
Amrita Deora, CEO of The Designera
Amrita's deep-rooted love for art has driven her to explore the world in search of new and exciting forms of creative expression. From the grandeur of Venice's Biennale to the innovative displays at Art Basel, and the iconic Museum of Modern Art in New York, she has traversed the globe, immersing herself in art's diverse and rich culture. Her travels have become synonymous with her passion for art, which has fueled her desire to create innovative and design-driven interactions.
"Before we opened the gallery, we were already running for two years. So at that stage itself, we had a lot of trial and error with concepts, with artists. So when we opened the gallery, we already had a set of artists, and now we work with over 150 artists," Amrita said.
She added, "The really different thing that we do that no other gallery does is that we buy the artworks from the artists. So, they don't have to wait for an artwork to sell for them to get paid. Which gives them a lot of financial freedom. And that along with the fact that it's very different and new and we have a really nice space. Artists love to work with us."
The gallery recently come up with new art festival, Zeitgeist. The term Zeitgeist refers to the prevailing mood, spirit, or cultural climate of an era. In this exhibition, the gallery invites people to explore the contemporary pulse that defines our modern world.
“A lot of the works that you see will not be traditional square canvases. We try to break that mould as much as possible. One thing that you see a lot of is we try to incorporate different kinds of technology in it like augmented reality and lenticular technology,” Amrita said while giving us a detailed guide of the artworks.
"I think there needs to still be more acceptance for fun pieces, because people still feel comfortable just putting up an abstract working network. But I feel that changing already. People want that fun vibe, especially after they've seen it somewhere and they're confident on that decision. People are really happy to make that mindset shift," Amrita added.
Deora is not only running The Designera but also pursuing her Master's in Design from Oxford University simultaneously. Amrita started her first business, Camelot CoWorks, at the age of 18, and has almost a decade of entrepreneurial experience. She soon conceptualized and unveiled The Designera as a result of her passion for art.