BENGALURU: Lying close to Cubbon Park and Visvesvaraya Museum, Kasturba Cross Road is already a hub for tourists and locals alike. Adding to the buzz in the area next year will be the Museum of Art and Photography. “Once the museum is launched, we are sure it will be a major tourist destination,” says Kamini Sawhney, who recently took over as the museum director.
A brainchild of industrialist Abhishek Poddar, the museum will showcase over 20,000 artworks, including sculptures, photographs and paintings in six categories such as modern and contemporary, photography, folk, textiles, craft, and pre-modern art. They have already received contributions from collectors, artists and photographers, like Jyoti Bhatt, Deepak Puri and T S Satyan.
The Rs 250 crore project will also deploy state-of-the-art technology. “A 3D holography is already in place. Computer screens and apps will guide visitors while providing infographics and interactive learning tools to understand the techniques, history and practices about a particular creation. The collections will be digitalised with high-resolution images. We will work on other technologies like virtual reality,” Adithya Popuri, 3D holography engineer, MAP, said. Three conservation specialists ensure that the artefacts are restored and maintained properly.
“We want the museum to be accessible to all,” Sawhney says. “Somebody with physical or mental disabilities should be able to get the same experience as others. For example, some art works are recreated as tactile experiences. We are looking beyond making the facility just wheelchair-friendly.”
They have already started holding children’s workshops at the temporary set-up near British Council. After the launch of the museum, their focus would be on conducting exhibitions on local dying arts. “The aim is to make it a platform for ideas and initiatives. The community should feel ownership, just like how Kochi-Muziris Biennale work now. We want to reach out to rural communities and promote their craft, and are tying up with organisations for this field,” says Sawhney.