Anushka Balaraj
Co-Founder
In mid-2018, Anushka shifted to Singapore where she did her IB Diploma in United World College South East Asia for two years to pursue her love for visual arts. When the pandemic struck, she came up with the idea of displaying her collection of digital art from the past two years and was quite disappointed to not find a suitable gallery that can give her collection the prominence it deserves. This is when Anushka came up with the idea of The Leap Gallery, joined by Sumitra Natesan (Co-Founder & MD, The Leap Gallery) who not only came from an art family but also shared the same passion and zeal.
Sumitra played a pragmatic role in launching the website as well as formally introducing The Leap Gallery to the world through a virtual exhibition held around August that year. As the duo commemorated their journey as new-gen art promoters, The Leap Gallery has been receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from the consumers and artists alike, boosting the confidence of Anushka and Sumitra to venture further in this domain. Anushka and Sumitra engage in an exclusive interaction with CEO Insights.
Tell us about The Leap Gallery as an organization and its position in the market?
Our ultimate goal is to change the current perception surrounding digital art from something people associate with cartoons or anime to some thing they can invest in and resonate with alongside uplifting their space. We are very careful about the type of artwork that we curate, ensuring that it not only adheres to the demands of present day art lovers but removes any sort of stereotypes and prejudice associated with Digital Art. With artists from Russia, China, Japan, and Turkey, we are promoting and providing digital artists with as much regard and respect as their conventional counterparts.
Regarding our position in the market, we are inclining more
towards representing quality artworks of digital artists around the world and helping art collectors own a piece of elite modern art in their homes. Since we are still an early stage startup we can see our business model iterating and maybe, even pivoting, as we progress through this industry and learn more about the demands of this generation of art lovers. We wish to take every opportunity which comes our way and try our best to fulfil the mission we set out to achieve together whilst coming up with a platform which caters to all types of digital art collectors and creators.
What are the different art forms that your company specializes in? Also, what are the most helpful technological platforms and tools you have used to present the emotions of the artists to the customers?
In our gallery, our artists have used a wide range of software and processes, such as Procreate, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Affinity to create their respective artworks. We have someone who uses photography combined with Affinity and Procreate to create his works. We do have some artists who create a mix of traditional and digital processes. Above all, each artist’s collection on our website tells a story about the artist’s life in some form or another. These stories make up The Leap Gallery’s core values.
What is the vision of your company? What is the roadmap that you have planned for The Leap Gallery?
Our vision is to help the artists in expressing their Identity with TLG. We ultimately want our buyers and clients to be able to truly resonate with the art they invest in. Above all, we aspire to uplift their spaces with the stories of our artists that they can identify with. Focused on having an upward positive growth, we currently work with four artists but we are looking for more suitable options to add to our TLG family. Hopefully, in the future, we wish to represent more talent and ultimately fulfill our goal by spreading the message of digital art and removing any misconceptions surrounding it.
Additionally, we are keeping a watchful eye on the trending NFT market that has recently gained tremendous popularity. We admire the concept of protecting the copyright of the artwork using Blockchain technology. Nevertheless, given the market is still very young with a lot of ambiguity surrounding cryptocurrencies, we still feel the need to wait and watch until we
We are very careful about the type of art work that we curate, ensuring that it not only adheres to the demands of the present-day art lovers but removes any sort of stereotypes and prejudice associated with Digital Art
What are the different art forms that your company specializes in? Also, what are the most helpful technological platforms and tools you have used to present the emotions of the artists to the customers?
In our gallery, our artists have used a wide range of software and processes, such as Procreate, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Affinity to create their respective artworks. We have someone who uses photography combined with Affinity and Procreate to create his works. We do have some artists who create a mix of traditional and digital processes. Above all, each artist’s collection on our website tells a story about the artist’s life in some form or another. These stories make up The Leap Gallery’s core values.
What is the vision of your company? What is the roadmap that you have planned for The Leap Gallery?
Our vision is to help the artists in expressing their Identity with TLG. We ultimately want our buyers and clients to be able to truly resonate with the art they invest in. Above all, we aspire to uplift their spaces with the stories of our artists that they can identify with. Focused on having an upward positive growth, we currently work with four artists but we are looking for more suitable options to add to our TLG family. Hopefully, in the future, we wish to represent more talent and ultimately fulfill our goal by spreading the message of digital art and removing any misconceptions surrounding it.
Additionally, we are keeping a watchful eye on the trending NFT market that has recently gained tremendous popularity. We admire the concept of protecting the copyright of the artwork using Blockchain technology. Nevertheless, given the market is still very young with a lot of ambiguity surrounding cryptocurrencies, we still feel the need to wait and watch until we
make a decision.
Being entrepreneurs yourselves, what do you think is kept in store for the future entrepreneurs in this domain? What suggestions would you give to them?
To work in this industry, it is almost fundamental to possess certain skill sets and characteristics without which you would find it difficult to keep going. These include broad-mindedness, a futuristic as well as goal-oriented mindset, respecting one’s differences and opinions, as well as resilience and persistence while maintaining the art of persuasion. In this field, especially since modern art is still paving a path for itself, it isn't so easy to change the mindset of a lot of people who don't seem to understand us and what we do.
Sumitra Natesan, Co-Founder, The Leap Gallery
Sticking true to your identity and standing firm on your goals is what would keep you going, even at times when it feels impossible to do so. When you’re an entrepreneur, the term failure is not new to you though over time you do realise failure is inevitable and actually recommended so you learn to do ordinary things extra ordinarily. Lastly, do not let anyone’s opinion of you and your business bog you down and pressurize you.
Anushka Balaraj, Co-Founder, The Leap Gallery
Anushka grew up in Bangalore for 16 years and lived in Singapore for two years. She is now enrolled at Babson College and undergoing a Bachelors in Business Administration and Science. Anushka is positioned as the CEO of The Leap Gallery since its inception in 2020.
•Hobbies: Visual Arts, working out, cooking, travelling, meeting and learning about new people
•Favourite Cuisine: Mediterranean, Italian
•Favourite Book: A Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
•Favourite Travel Destination:
Europe, South East Asia, USA
Sumitra Natesan, Co-Founder, The Leap Gallery
Sumitra has lived in Bangalore her entire life. Alongside being a business school student in Christ University, Sumitra is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Leap Gallery. She is Passionate about learning new things, and is learning French at present.
•Hobbies: writing, watching comedy and action movies, spending time with friends and family
•Favourite Cuisine: Italian, Japanese
•Favourite Book: Sons of Fortune by Jeffrey Archer
•Favourite Travel Destination: London and CapeTown
Being entrepreneurs yourselves, what do you think is kept in store for the future entrepreneurs in this domain? What suggestions would you give to them?
To work in this industry, it is almost fundamental to possess certain skill sets and characteristics without which you would find it difficult to keep going. These include broad-mindedness, a futuristic as well as goal-oriented mindset, respecting one’s differences and opinions, as well as resilience and persistence while maintaining the art of persuasion. In this field, especially since modern art is still paving a path for itself, it isn't so easy to change the mindset of a lot of people who don't seem to understand us and what we do.
Sumitra Natesan, Co-Founder, The Leap Gallery
Sticking true to your identity and standing firm on your goals is what would keep you going, even at times when it feels impossible to do so. When you’re an entrepreneur, the term failure is not new to you though over time you do realise failure is inevitable and actually recommended so you learn to do ordinary things extra ordinarily. Lastly, do not let anyone’s opinion of you and your business bog you down and pressurize you.
Anushka Balaraj, Co-Founder, The Leap Gallery
Anushka grew up in Bangalore for 16 years and lived in Singapore for two years. She is now enrolled at Babson College and undergoing a Bachelors in Business Administration and Science. Anushka is positioned as the CEO of The Leap Gallery since its inception in 2020.
•Hobbies: Visual Arts, working out, cooking, travelling, meeting and learning about new people
•Favourite Cuisine: Mediterranean, Italian
•Favourite Book: A Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
•Favourite Travel Destination:
Europe, South East Asia, USA
Sumitra Natesan, Co-Founder, The Leap Gallery
Sumitra has lived in Bangalore her entire life. Alongside being a business school student in Christ University, Sumitra is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Leap Gallery. She is Passionate about learning new things, and is learning French at present.
•Hobbies: writing, watching comedy and action movies, spending time with friends and family
•Favourite Cuisine: Italian, Japanese
•Favourite Book: Sons of Fortune by Jeffrey Archer
•Favourite Travel Destination: London and CapeTown