Bengaluru is set to get a world class Museum Of Art & Photography (MAP). Located close to Cubbon Park on Kasturba Road, it is expected to be ready by 2020.Soumitra Ghosh, a prominent city architect, is the lead architect of the museum.
The museum is a long-cherished dream of art aficionado Abhishek Poddar. Poddar wanted to transform the Venkatappa Art Gallery into a dynamic art space. His move, however, was opposed by several artists and prominent citizens, who were against handing over the state-run gallery to an individual.
Speaking of the dream taking shape, he said: "Though the Venkatappa Art Gallery project did not succeed, there is no reason why the city must be deprived of something of such value which we had promised."
Speaking to DH from New York, Poddar said the essence of MAP is to educate people from all walks of life about the world of art and photography. "In India, there is a dearth of access to the best artworks from across the world. We have sourced artworks from private collections and major galleries abroad have also agreed to share some of their collections with us."
Covering an area of 42,000 square feet spread across five floors, MAP will have multiple exhibitions, an auditorium, a library for research and a restoration lab alongside classrooms to educate people on art and photography.
The exhibition will showcase a collection of over 15,000 artworks dating from the 12th century to the present .
The massive collection has been divided into six key departments which include Modern and Contemporary, Photography, Folk & Tribal, Popular Art and Textiles, Craft and Design and Pre-Modern Art.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairperson of Biocon and a board member of MAP said, "My love for art has led to my association with Museum Of Art & Photography. It has been a long dream which is finally taking shape. It will be a rich and exhaustive resource for art and photography lovers. Abhishek Poddar has worked relentlessly to set up this museum."
Kiran said Poddar has used his rich network from some of the best art and museum galleries from accross the world to source the priceless artefacts.