KATHMANDU, Jan 20: E-Arts Nepal, an Internet website, founded by Susan Shrestha and the Kasthamandap Artists’ Group was formally launched in Kathmandu on Sunday, January 16.
On eartsnepal.com, artists, art lovers and collectors can now browse and look at works by Nepali artists online, and if they wish, can purchase works through the website.
“We’ve been working on this for the past two months and currently have works by 50 artists online,” shared Erina Tamrakar, a member of Kasthamandap, at the opening. Along with their works on sale, one can also view the bios of these artists, and artworks can be searched in categories of Paintings, Sculptures and Prints.
The website works similar to other ecommerce sites such as eBay and Amazon. A potential buyer can simply select and add artworks to his or her shopping cart and proceed to payment. More details are available under their Buying Guide section of the website.
“The artworks currently are with the artists themselves and we’ll collect them upon the sale of the works and deliver them to the buyers,” informed Tamrakar, a painter herself. Based on the local rates of most galleries, 30% commission of each work sold will go to E-Arts Nepal and the rest to the artist. Artworks are priced in US Dollars; therefore, the target audience of the website is an international one.
Even so, it does not mean that Nepali buyers are not welcome to make purchases. Perhaps, the prices of works in Nepali Rupees would make it locally friendly.
E-Arts Nepal also has sections on Artist of the Month, Collection of the Month, and New Arrivals. Apart from the website being a platform for Nepali artists to showcase and sell their works, and without having to rent a gallery to do so, E-Arts Nepal also holds other useful information pertaining to arts in Nepal, such as museum lists, college lists and conservation guide.
No doubt there are several rooms for improvement as E-Arts Nepal is still in its initial phase. Nonetheless, the website looks promising, especially given the much needed building up of a Nepali art market.
