The Bihar Museum is in the news once again, and for all the right reasons. Ranked ninth in the 2026 edition of the World’s 100 Best Museums by Worth a Journey, a Munich-based travel guide and digital magazine founded by Jakob Schwichtenberg, it has secured a place among the world’s top 10 museums, bringing international visibility to Bihar’s cultural ambitions.
Conceived under the leadership of the then Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, the Bihar Museum opened to the public in 2017. Designed by celebrated Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, selected through an international design competition, it is an architectural landmark along Nehru Path. Built in concrete and stone, the structure reflects Maki’s philosophy of Oku, which explores spatial depth and layering. The interplay of buildings and open spaces creates a sense of anticipation, discovery and serenity.
Unlike the archaeological museums established by the British in India, the Bihar Museum was conceived as an interactive, contemporary cultural space. Its distinction lies as much in its vision as in its architecture.
Nitish Kumar’s vision deserves particular recognition. At a time when Bihar was routinely dismissed as a Bimaru state, the decision to invest substantially in a museum attracted criticism. Yet Bihar is among India’s most culturally rich regions. As Rajendra Prasad famously observed, the history of Bihar is, in many ways, the history of India.
The museum’s development owes much to Anjani Kumar Singh, the then Chief Secretary of Bihar, now its Director General. His administrative acumen and passion for the arts helped bring together professionals such as Anthony Lopez of Lopez Design, whose work gave the institution its distinctive graphic identity.
The Bihar Museum Biennale, conceived in 2021, has strengthened the museum’s international cultural engagement. Its three editions explored themes ranging from ‘Bihar, India and the World’ and ‘Together We Art’, a G20 project inspired by Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, to ‘Global South: Sharing Histories’ in 2025. The museum’s collections are equally compelling, from the celebrated Didarganj Yakshi, renowned for its exquisite proportions and Mauryan-era polish, to the Nalanda Gallery and the remarkable Kurkihar bronzes.
India’s museum landscape is also expanding. The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), with spaces in Saket and Noida, is developing an ambitious new museum near Aerocity, New Delhi, designed by Sir David Adjaye. Envisioned as a major centre for modern and contemporary art, it will bring together visual and performing arts, research and education. Therefore, as a curator, art historian and author, I have found it particularly interesting to witness the expanding role of museums in India in shaping new intellectual and cultural trajectories. They are increasingly becoming spaces for dialogue, research and exchange, moving beyond their traditional role as repositories of art and heritage. International collaborations are opening up new possibilities in this regard. Under the leadership of Director General Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) has built an impressive network of partnerships with institutions and scholars across the world. Its recent exhibition and off-site seminar, Thinking Nalanda, held at the Bihar Museum, brought together scholars and trustees for an engagement with the historic Nalanda site. I was fortunate to serve as the Academic Director of this seminar. My own association with the Bihar Museum goes back to 2021, when I conceptualised and established the first-ever Bihar Museum Biennale, followed by its second edition in 2023. These initiatives reflect the growing ambition of Indian museums to create platforms for scholarship, international collaboration and meaningful cultural engagement.
Other institutions, including the Sunken Museum at Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi, Vadnagar Archaeological Experiential Museum in Gujarat, Museo Camera in Gurugram, Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai, Heritage Transport Museum in Haryana, Jamini Roy House Museum, Kerala Folklore Museum and Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing, demonstrate the diversity of approaches to preserving India’s heritage.
As a curator, art historian and author, I find it exciting to witness this expanding museum landscape. Museums are no longer merely repositories of artefacts; they are becoming spaces for dialogue, scholarship, experimentation and cultural exchange. The Bihar Museum’s global recognition reminds us that when vision, architecture and institutional commitment come together, a museum can transcend geographical boundaries and contribute to the world’s cultural conversation.
alkapande108@gmail.com
