Tsuktiben Jamir
After a series of set-backs and delays; the pandemic being a major hurdle, South India witnessed the long overdue opening of its first ever major private art museum in Bengaluru, the IT capital of the country with the name ‘Museum of Art and Photography’ on 18th February 2023.
The museum, which was initiated by Abhishek Poddar, will be the home for more than 60,000 artworks, photographs and textiles from India as well as across the world. The collection will include works of eminent artists from India like Raja Ravi Varma, MF Husain and Amrita Sher-Gil. The museum will also feature textiles from India, Southeast Asia, and Africa as well as photographs by renowned photographers including Henri Cartier-Bresson and Margaret Bourke-White.
About 7,000 of the 60,000 pieces of art and objects at the museum, which depict Indian culture from the 12th century to the present, were donated by the philanthropist and industrialist Abhishek Poddar himself.
Courtesy: Vogue India
At the centre of Bengaluru’s cultural sector, the five storey-museum designed by Bengaluru based architects Mathew & Ghosh Architects is spread across a whopping 44,000 square feet. Once a warehouse, the structure has now been renovated into a modern, minimalist expanse with an abundance of natural light, with easy accessibility and functionality in mind.
When the COVID-19 pandemic halted the museum’s construction in 2020, Poddar saw a chance to extend MAP’s reach even farther by debuting its online programming three years ago, attracting viewers from around the world while not yet having a physical presence.
The museum officially debuted with three initial exhibitions: “Time and Time Again,” a significant retrospective of Jyoti Bhatt’s photography; “Visible/Invisible,” an investigation of the depiction of women in Indian art over the course of 11 centuries as well as a new collection of sculptures by L.N. Tallur titled “Chirag-e-Al”. Apart from the permanent collection, the museum is also set to host temporary exhibits, seminars, and talks frequently in an effort to interact with a variety of audiences, including students, families, and collectors.
The founder Abhishek Poddar told Art Basel, “Unfortunately, over the last 30 or 40 years, art has become less important. It’s moved into the category of investment commodity and is often perceived as elitist and only of interest to a very small section of society.” Through this venture Abhishek seeks to expose the world of art to every section of the society and to fill the gap in a country where museums are in a run-down state. He furthers his passion with the notion that art literacy is key in understanding the intricacies of a visually cluttered environment as well as to promote the rich and exquisite cultural heritage of Southern India. With this in mind, he conceived the idea for this non-profit institution in 2016. It is also interesting to note that this institution is not government funded.
Courtesy- MAP
The unveiling of this selfless initiative is a significant step in the art scene of Bengaluru and Poddar is hopeful in his vision to spread the love of art to every corner of the world.
Courtesy: Museum of Art and Photography (MAP)
