Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, in association with Dastakar, exhibited paintings, performances by folk artists and workshops that focused on art forms.
Kiran Nadar Museum of Art is committed to helping educators connect students with art. The museum’s special educators are constantly striving to create engaging content for art workshops that focus on ground-breaking learning through art. “We hope to provide innovative ways for the public to engage with India’s rich artistic heritage in public spaces, demonstrating the museum’s commitment to making arts programming accessible to a diverse audience and activating art museums’ role in art education,” explains Apurva Kackar, Chief Marketing Officer, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art.
Students from schools, colleges and NGOs come in large groups to attend the workshops throughout the year. “Right at the start of the year we plan our calendar for the next say three to six months. And we try to focus that every day we should have schools, NGOs, college students visiting us and we plan the workshops accordingly. We try and cultivate programmes taking inspiration from the artists and their medium of the work. For, example, let’s take the case of the exhibition on Anupam Sud. So, we took inspiration from her work and had workshops on ceramic and printmaking techniques,” reveals Kackar.
The museum’s school outreach team goes out to the schools zone-wise and those schools then start giving their bookings. “The idea is to inculcate education on the museum and the art and the culture. We decide the programme depending on the age group of the student that is coming. Say, we have nursery students and so naturally they won’t be able to handle the hands-on experience and so we will try and impact learning through storytelling. How we can communicate and educate them is very important,” explains Kackar.
These workshops are not only limited to students. They attract many young adults, housewives, senior citizens and individuals with special needs. “Our mission is to bridge the gap between art and the general public, to foster a museum-going culture in India, and to increase access to the arts in general, as well as to encourage people at all levels to see and relate to art, even if they cannot afford it,” avers Kackar.
From time to time, the museum also hosts cultural extravaganzas such as Chitrakala Mahotsav that focused on Indian tribal and folk art. In order to bring the various indigenous folk-art forms of India to the public, the museum in association with Dastakar, exhibited paintings by artists, performances by traditional folk artists and workshops that focused on art forms like Gond, Madhubani, Pattachitra, Phad, Sanjhi, Kalighat and Pichwai. Also, the museum recently hosted a Tourism Conclave with panel discussions ending with a marquee performance by Padma Vibhushan Teejan Bai who graced the stage with a celebration of Pandavani.
Kiran Nadar Museum of Art is heavily invested in the ideas of public art. An interesting collaboration between KNMA and Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) is the project ‘Transform through Art,’ where the museum has conceptualized and installed a series of public art installations across 10 metro stations. “A couple of times we have done public art with the malls like we have done with Select City Wall, Mall of India. We have also done it with the airport. We have done Subodh Gupta’s ‘Rickshaw Art,’ we have also done Ravinder Reddy’s ‘Head.’ Then we have also done Venkat Bothsa’s work. We have taken the arts so that people can get a hold of the modern contemporary art. We have also done flash mob in Select City Walk, Saket wherein we recreated Raja Ravi Varma. Ultimately, it’s not about the museum but it is all about spreading awareness about art,” sums up Kackar.
As part of the museum’s collaboration with the Noida Authority for a series of unique public art initiatives, a painted mural within the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) underpass in Noida has been installed. Not to mention the RWA workshops, which are a part of the museum’s arts-integrated community outreach programme, Birthday Parties Celebrating child’s milestones, and wall painting with HCL Foundation at the Sector 42 schools as part of creative community-building neighborhood programmes. KNMA in collaboration with the HCL foundation took the initiative to paint many schools that belonged to underprivileged children in rural areas of Noida, UP. KNMA has also collaborated with the Archaeological Survey of India to promote the rich heritage of the country.