The Art Museum at Shanghumughom is a space for taking contemporary art to the people and tourists, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
He was speaking after after inaugurating the museum, set up by the city Corporation, at the renovated Thekke Kottaram (South Palace) here on Sunday evening.
In many cities in the country, the civic body run museums. Once it becomes fully functional, the Art Museum at Shanghumughom would rise to similar heights, the Chief Minister said.
Museums helped preserve for posterity symbols of the times one lived in and art and culture. The Art Museum too was an attempt at this - conducting exhibitions of paintings of artistes of national and international repute by tying up with other museums and galleries, introducing contemporary art to the people so that they could understand art and changing trends, and most importantly providing a venue to up-and-coming artists to exhibit their works and ensuring that they got their due from the sale of their works.
It was befitting that the museum was functioning in a structure that was built for the royal family of erstwhile Travancore to take rest during the Arat of the Padmanabhaswamy temple.
Its location at Shanghumughom, which drew a lot of visitors, would help exhibiting artists gain more visibility, Mr. Vijayan said.
The government, he said, was taking steps to conserve and modernise the 20 heritage museums in the State. The Natural History Museum was being raised to international standards and would be opened in three months. The restoration of the Napier Museum too would begin soon.
Work was under way at the V.K. Krishna Menon Memorial Museum, and at the Kumbichira heritage museum in Wayanad. Artist Sudhir Patwardhan who was the chief guest said the opening of the museum was a landmark in the cultural history of the State.
Unlike in other places where the civic bodies rented out galleries to artists to showcase their works, it was laudable that the city Corporation had started a museum with a full programme of curated show, and full-time director and staff. There were plans for workshops and outreach programmes too, he said.
Acquisitions
Acquisitions were an important aspect for museums, he said, urging the Corporation to earmark a budget for it. Even starting with small acquisitions of young artists, even if not in a large number, would lead a good collection over time.
He had a word of praise for the museum infrastructure, calling it of international quality, and said the inaugural show ‘Rebounds’ by nine artists was excellent.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran who presided over the function said the museum would change the face of Shanghumughom.
It would provide opportunities for artists, including up-and-coming ones, and provide them greater exposure.
V.S. Sivakumar, MLA, inaugurated the museum website, and sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman released the catalogue of the inaugural show by handing it over to artist N.N. Rimzon.
Mayor V.K. Prasanth spoke.