Articulating a vision

BENGALURU: New construction projects have become an everyday affair in Bengaluru, most often at the cost of the city’s lush green cover. Yet a particular project that has been taking shape on Kasturba Road over the last few years is working at making the city a premiere hub for art and culture in the country. After much delay, the Museum Of Art And Photography (MAP) is opening its doors to the public in mid-February.

The brainchild of industrialist-philanthropist Abhishek Poddar, MAP is taking physical form more than two years after it was originally launched as a digital museum, and is attempting to democratise art and change the way the public perceive the museum-going experience.

“India has many museums, but museum-hopping has not been part of our culture. They have just become relics of the British Raj. The whole point is for MAP to play a significant part in changing that mindset,” Poddar says, adding, “Art is not only for artists, curators or art writers. In India, there’s art in every nook and cranny. Yet our connection with it has somehow snapped. We hope to reconnect people with art, history and culture.”

Being the country’s newest private art museum, MAP will feature over 60,000 artworks – paintings, sculptures, textiles, photographs – predominantly from the Indian subcontinent, dating all the way back to the 10th century. A significant portion of MAP’s collection was donated by the Poddar family from their private collection, but it also features artworks sourced from other artists, institutions and donors.

 “My family has gifted a large part of our collection, but we’ve been fortunate to get many gifts of art from other collectors and donors. It dwarfs the collection that my family has given,” says Poddar, adding that MAP plans to collaborate with museums around the world and borrow exhibits as and when required.
As an old Bengalurean who has seen the city evolve, Poddar (54) believes that the city represents the future of India. 

“MAP is not just about the past, but also about the future,” he says. On a lighter note, he adds, “This is my hometown and I wanted to build the museum here because this is where I can enjoy it myself rather than having to travel each time I want to see it.”

A self-professed acquisition junkie, Poddar grew up surrounded by hand-picked art collected by his parents. “What had a bigger impact was all the encounters I had with various artists, teachers, historians, scholars, who opened my eyes to different genres of art and took me on a journey of discovery,” he shares.

“During my teen years, I had some incredible experiences with these stalwarts who shaped my vision and passion.” Yet, the prolific art collector says he had little say in MAP’s curatorial direction. “My curators don’t listen to me,” he quips.