Museum of Art and Photography (Map) is a curious case study of India’s changing relationship with the arts. Industrialist Abhishek Poddar’s philanthropic initiative to make his tremendous collection of art, photography and textiles available to the public began in 2016 as a digital platform. Since then, the museum has undertaken a series of educational ventures in collaboration with notable international museums such as The Metropolitan. The Art Museum in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, as well as tech giants such as Accenture and Microsoft.
Now, unlike the usual offline-to-digital transition that most museums are forced to make, MAP will take real shape at the stunning five-storey museum in the heart of Bengaluru, which is slated to open to the public in mid-February 2023. ready for. It will include four large galleries, an extensive library, a multimedia gallery, a 130-seat auditorium, a technology center, a sculpture atrium, a research and conservation laboratory, an education center, a gift shop, a café, and a fine arts . Rooftop Dining Restaurant. “MAP’s mission is to take art to the heart of the community,” says museum director Kamini Sawhney. “We are seeing the democratization of art, and changing the entire museum experience for the country.”
Kamini Sawhney, Director, Museum of Art and Photography. , photo credit: Prarthana Shetty
AI and Assistant Holograms
MAP’s digital life will remain alive and well even in the physical museum space: for one, an AI-powered hologram of MF Hussain, created by MAP Labs in collaboration with Accenture, will greet visitors and answer all manner of questions . , “Why did you like horses?” “Why did you go barefoot?”
In addition, a multimedia gallery has been fitted with a number of digital screens that allow visitors to pull up any of the approximately 60,000 digitized artworks that are the patrons of MAP. This means that MAP’s entire collection remains accessible even when it is not physically on display. “I see the virtual and the physical as two parts of a whole,” admits Sawhney, “I don’t see MAP as just a physical space… [or] Being just a digital platform; We are learning how to combine the two. The idea is to enhance the experience of your visitors.
44,000 Sq.ft. Art and Photography Museum.
Bengaluru-based architecture firm Mathew & Ghosh, which designed the museum building, changed the “outward focus” of MAP’s intention to a 44,000-sq. Structure that appears to be expanding outward – with the footprint expanding at higher levels. Soumitro Ghosh made special reference to the water containers of the colonial era. “It’s a metaphor for how art breaks down boundaries and puts pressure on society to question itself and its norms,” he says. “It was translated into this idea of building being an outside pressure.”
Architect Soumitro Ghosh. , Photo Credit: Pallon Daruwala
The architects have also worked with the Center for Diversity and Equal Opportunity to build accessibility into the fabric of the museum. Sahni explains, “Apart from ramps, we also looked at door handles, wheelchair-friendly ticket counters and quiet room positioning for those who tend to get over-hyped and need some time to calm down.” Is.”
develop a cultural center
The MAP collection is divided into six categories: pre-modern; modern and contemporary; Textiles, Crafts and Design; living traditions (which are generally understood to include folk and tribal art); photography; and popular culture. Sahni explains, “Popular culture is Bollywood posters, calendar art, advertisements and the like.” “All of these things, which represent collective culture, are important hooks to draw people in. When they enter a museum, they feel like it’s a place that represents part of their lives.”
A photograph from an exhibition by modernist printmaker, painter and photographer Jyoti Bhatt.
To demonstrate the breadth of its collection, MAP will open with three inaugural showcases: They will emphasize photography through a rare exhibition of works by modernist printmaker, painter and photographer Jyoti Bhatt, drawn from 1,000 prints and 60,000 negatives ; Karnataka artist LN Tallur, who works between India and South Korea, will respond to MAP’s collection of sacred objects transgender (celestial musicians who are part human, part bird) and dialakshmis (a representation of Goddess Lakshmi holding a lamp) through an artificial intelligence-powered project lamp-a-a which will create intersections between AI and ritualistic belief systems; And finally, visible/invisibleSahni, will explore the visual representation of women in art (from the 10th century to the present) through a three-year exhibition of 130 works from MAP’s permanent collection.
An exhibition by Karnataka artist LN Tallur Chirag-e-a.
Educational initiatives will take place throughout the year, along with exhibitions, including a conference on women’s issues scheduled for March 2023. “Our collection becomes the starting point, but we want to have a more interactive relationship with our audience – we don’t want to be the dominant voice.”
an exhibition from visible/invisible.
Ghosh, for his part, envisions that many of MAP’s initiatives will increasingly move beyond the web of their physical location and from being a single location into a network of interconnected locations across the urban landscape. “I don’t see it as an end in itself; This is just a start,” he admits. “We have tried to make all the provisions – be it for power access or data security – but I am sure curators and artists are going to challenge those limits every time they set up a new show. It’s going to be constantly evolving. It’s part of the game.
Freelance writer and playwright based in Mumbai.