ART FROM THE HEART

MUSEUM OF ART & PHOTOGRAPHY, BENGALURU (MAP), ONE OF SOUTH INDIA'S UNIQUE PRIVATE MUSEUMS IS MAKING ART AND CULTURE ACCESSIBLE TO DIVERSE AUDIENCES AND DOING ITS BIT TO CREATE A MUSEUM-GOING CULTURE IN INDIA. HERE'S A TÊTE-À-TÊTE WITH MAP FOUNDER ABHISHEK PODDAR ON EVERYTHING THAT YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE FIRST DIGITAL ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY MUSEUMS IN INDIA THAT IS GIVING UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE WORLD OF INDIAN ART AND CULTURE

- NAMITA GUPTA

1. What was the inspiration behind Museum of Art & Photography (MAP)?

Much of the museum's holdings come from our extensive collection of Indian art, photography and textiles over the past three decades. Having grown up around art, I cultivated a keen interest in art through several personal relationships with Indian artists. The most significant was my relationship with the artist Manjit Bawa who mentored me and introduced me to the works of many other leading modern artists of the time, such as Tyeb Mehta, Ram Kumar, Arpita Singh and J. Swaminathan, most of whom are important names in MAP's current collection.

Inspired by his travels and visits to museums around the world, I was eager to revive the cultural landscape of the city of Bengaluru, and to pioneer a museum-going culture for children and adults. This is how the ambitious project of MAP was born. In December 2016, Christie's held an auction of a major contingent of our Poddar family's personal collection, and the funds acquired were used to drive forward his vision. This major contribution also encouraged the establishment of MAP's Gifts Programme, which allowed for donations of artworks by other patrons and artists, such as Deepak Puri, Jyoti Bhatt, and Barbara Kipper. Today, MAP is custodian to a growing collection of over 60,000 artworks that take viewers on a comprehensive journey of Indian art and culture.

2. How is it different from others in the similar space?