enviable collection in their homes 3figure art works catching on to the craze mumbais galleries have been wooing freshers by hosting affordable art shows last june sakshi in colaba put up hundreds of works by artists both established and emerging including lithographs drawings and posters by manjit bawa krishen khanna jitish kallat and k g subramanyan on sale the starting price rs 500 most works in the easy buy category were priced under rs 10000 including m f husain prints at rs 35 lakh jogen chowdhurys blackandwhite charcoal drawing was the most expensive piece art historian and sakshis proprietor geetha mehra saw a different footfall that fortnight i had a sailor lawyers even curious collegians walk in i hadnt seen something like that in a long time the galerie mirchandani steinruecke nearby in colaba is preparing to host the second season of art for young collectors this august after exhibiting works by new artists juhikadevi bhanjdeo midhungopi p abul hisham and arundhati saikia priced between rs 5000 and rs 200000 last year ranjana steinruecke says the younger lot sees relevance in art it informs their existence in a way she says let me tell you how enticing the new buyer isnt enough though galleries understand that if they wish to cultivate a new collector base they must invest in education most financial experts filmmakers designers who have the resources to make steep purchases may not have enjoyed exposure to art early last month colabas top nine galleries including volte chemould prescott road the guild lakeeren project 88 gallery maskara and chatterjee lal organised a classroom at a suburban fivestar british art critic author broadcaster and artist mathew collings was at the helm covering everything from global to popular in the contemporary art world for an audience that including exhibitors curators artists writers and new collectors we were also keen that our collectors children attend the seminar since they are seen as the future collector base says steinruecke legacy follows thirtyyearold nicholai sachdev would qualify in that category the son of arun and chandra sachdev who run gallery 7 says given his exposure it is hard to imagine a home without art and books the gallerist who deals with the moderns and new contemporary art by outofartschool graduates sachdev also consults bankers doctors and lawyers in their 20s who are keen investors art is considered a bluechip investment when i get someone with deep resources i indulge them in the moderns but if its a young professional with disposable income id guide him to an upcoming artist all the while encouraging him to see and read more actor sonam kapoors mother sunita kapoor an avid collector has the masters jehangir sabavala m f husain and sakti burman hanging at her juhu home sonam who is building her own collection of the moderns and young contemporaries boasts of a manjit bawa and a shibu natesan work in her kitty while hers and the belsarevora collection are personal we dont want