Curating art in the pandemic age

CHENNAI: Art and history aficionados can never forget their first experience of being engrossed in the beauty of a museum’s belongings. Unfortunately, geographic restrictions, coupled with the pandemic, have limited access to such wonders. Well, what if the museums could come to them instead? In the first session of DakshinaChitra’s new series ‘Tales from Museums’ on Tuesday, founder of Sarmaya Museum, Paul Abraham, and his spouse and brand custodian Pavitra Rajaram talked about the conception of the museum and what it takes to engage thousands online with an artistic approach.

Of devices and details
A non-profit, self-funded culmination of Paul’s passions, Sarmaya is an online repository of historic and contemporary art and artefacts that uses digitalisation as a tool to increase its reach multifold. “Today, museums have been hit so hard simply because they can’t even benefit from physical attendance. They’re all grappling with how to create that outreach and engagement. Digitalisation is, in my opinion, not something that people can delay,” commented Paul.

“The most important device that we have today is the mobile phone. Through our website, the museum is available to you on your phone at all times. You can see everything at the click of a button,” he added. However, engagement online requires a creative approach. Sarmaya’s Instagram account focuses on aesthetically appealing visuals that can grasp a person’s attention instantly and then lead them to other properties such as their website and Facebook account.

Take this eye-catching animation on the platform that combines elements of five different artworks, for instance — — with the backdrop of an embroidered Pichwai, a tiger from artist Jethro Buck’s ‘Ways of seeing Tigers’ struts into a photograph of the Amber Palace adorned by a large necklace from an old jewellery book; blue pottery vases are nestled in the palace’s arches and you see an enamelled boat drift on a river in the foreground.

“The post garnered 10,300 views in merely 3-4 days. Every panel is a small story. It’s a different way of thinking. Is it really important to focus on details or to draw people in through stories? For us, it’s not about mapping point A - B - C. We allow people to choose their own experience and follow that thread,” added Pavitra. Through the combination of audio, visuals and animation, they also hook in the younger generation.

Reaching out to the youth
Constant engagement and storytelling through IGTV, online exhibitions, posts etc. have enabled the museum to reach large swathes of people in the country and beyond. These technological advancements, however, put the spotlight on the changed requirements of future museums. “It begs the question, what is the new expertise that we may need in a museum, going forward? Now we need people with design skills, those who know animations and are familiar with the new online properties that are popular with youngsters,” said Paul. Apart from appealing to them through online mediums, the museum also does outreach programmes in various schools across the country.

After an engaging first session with Sarmaya, Dakshina- Chitra looks forward to featuring other museums. “When it seemed like the lockdown was here to stay for a while, DakshinaChitra had the idea of connecting up with many museums, to stay in touch with people and talk about their work. We are looking to make it a regular online program, where we reach out to other museums like Sarmaya, look at their collection and what we can learn from them,” said Pradeep Chakravarthy, historian and advisor at DakshinaChitra.