Ibrahim Wagh was born in Bombay, British India (now Mumbai, India) in 1936. He moved to London, England on a scholarship to study at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in 1962. Wagh is mostly known for his central involvement in the Indian Painters Collective, later developed into the Indian Artists UK and Indian Arts Council: the first artist collectives of their kind in the UK.
Artist, illustrator and gallery director, Ibrahim Wagh was born in Bombay, British India (now Mumbai, India) in 1936. He was awarded first prize in his final year of studies at the Sir J.J. School of Art in Bombay and established his art studio at the Bhulabhia Institute, working with prominent actors, directors and writers from the Indian Peoples Theatre. A member of the Bombay Art Society, he received a silver medal at one of their annual exhibitions. Wagh moved to London, England in 1962 on a Tata scholarship, studying at the Central School of Arts and Crafts (now Central Saint Martins, UAL), London College of Printing (LCP) and Twickenham College of Technology. From 1965 Wagh worked as a civil servant in the Department of Transport and Environment as a leading illustrator (Price, 2010).
Alongside his work as an illustrator, Wagh was a founding member of the Indian Painters Collective (IPC) in 1963. Comprising Indian artists living and working in London, IPC was formally announced in 1964, following a meeting between Wagh and other former members of the Bombay Art Society: Gajanan Bhagwat, Lancelot Ribeiro and Yashwant Mali. A key initiative of the IPC was the exhibition, Six Indian Painters, held at India House, London in 1964. Opened by the Indian High Commissioner, Dr Jivraj N. Mehta and Jennie Lee, then Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, Wagh showed work alongside Bhagwat, Ribeiro, Mali, and additional members, Balraj Khanna and S. V. Rama Rao. The IPC was the first artistic collective of its kind outside India, with the exhibition catalogue stating their mission was to hold ‘frequent exhibitions under their own auspices’ and to ‘participate in other exhibitions here and on the continent’, representing ‘a cross section of Indian painting today’ (Ribeiro, Art UK, 2019; Diaspora Artists). Beyond IPC, Wagh held various solo exhibitions in London, including at the Victoria League (1962), English Speaking Union (1963) and Richmond Hill Art Gallery (1971).
By the late 1970s, the IPC had contracted to just four artists (Khanna, Mali, Ribeiro and Wagh) and became Indian Artists UK (IAUK). The new, revitalised collective sought to gain better access to public collections and grant-funding for its members. Full members were to have already developed an artistic profile and paid £20 annually, while associate members (students and ‘others’) and patrons were also invited to join. In 1977 the group forged relationships with the Commission for Racial Equality, Arts Council and Minorities’ Arts Advisory Service (MAAS). IAUK secured another exhibition at India House, Four Leading Indian Artists in 1978, celebrated with a lavish party at a ‘grand house in Kensington Palace Gardens’ (Ribeiro, Art UK, 2019). Wagh exhibited at the exhibition organised by the Rainbow Art Group (of which he was elected Chairman in 1978; members included: Uzo Egonu, Lancelot Ribeiro, Errol Lloyd, Yeshwant Mali, Suresh Vedak and Mohammad Zakir) at the Midlands Art Centre, Birmingham in 1979, and in the Exhibition of Paintings by IAUK Indian Artists living in U.K. at Burgh House Museum, Hampstead, London in 1980, part of a so-called wider 'Indian Month' initiative (January-February), according to the catalogue. The catalogue further stated that ‘IAUK’s aims are the recognition of its members’ work on an equal basis with their British contemporaries and the fulfilment of their rights to the amenities and facilities available in the democratic society’, and that ‘through exhibitions at 8 South Audley Street, London W1, and other selected places, it will attempt to create a growing awareness of the Indian arts and culture among the general public’ (Diaspora Artists). Wagh also co-organised and designed IAUK’s Between Two Cultures show at the Barbican Arts Centre, London in 1982. IAUK renamed itself the Indian Arts Council (IAC) in 1983.
Opening in 1987, Wagh was Artistic Director at Horizon Gallery, 70 Marchmont Street, Bloomsbury, London, which functioned as the visual arts wing of IAC until its closure in 1991. The gallery focussed on artists of dual cultural heritage, especially South Asian women (VADS Collection). Wagh also researched ceramics at Goldsmiths’ College, University of London in 1988, and was awarded residencies in Japan and Canada (Price, 2010). In 1990, he exhibited in two touring exhibitions: the seminal The Other Story: Afro-Asian Artists in Post-War Britain at the Hayward Gallery, London (curated by Rasheed Araeen), alongside other notables such as Balraj Khanna, Sonia Boyce and Gavin Jantjes; and Eddie Chambers’ Let the Canvas Come to Life with Dark Faces, in which non-white artists in Britain showcased self-portraits at Bluecoat, Liverpool and the South London Art Gallery. In 1993 Wagh was awarded a fellowship from Digswell Art Trust, Welwyn Garden City. In the late 1990s, he developed renal failure and went into dialysis (Price, 2010). It is presumed that Ibrahim Wagh died in England in 2010 (Price, 2010). Ibrahim Wagh's work is not currently held in any UK public collections.
Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Ibrahim Wagh]
Publications related to [Ibrahim Wagh] in the Ben Uri Library