Re-imagining museums: Upgradation and Modernisation

Re-imagining museums: Upgradation and Modernisation

Subject: History

Section: Art and Culture

• Progress made in re-imagining our museums and cultural spaces in recent times in India.
  • First, there has been a shift from a museum-centric approach to a cultural spaces approach.
  • Second, the museums have been built for specific purposes rather than relying on general purpose museums.
  • And finally, the museums have been looked at with a whole-of-government approach to ensure that museums provide a wholesome experience.
• Cultural Spaces Approach:
  • This approach involves integration of one’s culture into the lives of the citizens rather than to position them in museums.
  • And since India is one of the few continuously inhabited civilisational states that continues to thrive. Therefore, its art, culture and heritage are not just available for viewing in museums but can be witnessed in our day-to-day activities.
  • As a result whenever stolen heritage is retrieved from other countries, there is an attempt to restore it to the place it was taken from rather than to have it languish in the warehouse of a museum.
• Specific Purpose Museums:
  • Such museums have unique content and a definite purpose and also ensures that rich material is on display and the overall experience is wholesome.
  • Examples: Birsa Munda museum in Ranchi, Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya, the arms and armour museum at the Red Fort, a gallery on Gautama Buddha in Delhi, the museum on Jammu and Kashmir and the Statue of Unity also contain a museum that chronicles the various facets of Patel in great detail.
• Whole-of-government approach:
  • The museums are not just under the control of the Ministry of Culture, other government departments and ministries also play an important role in managing these museums.
  • Such an approach also provides a wholesome experience to all stakeholders.
  • The 25 science cities, centers and museums under the National Council of Science Museums, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture, are backed with a MoU with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.
  • The use of digital technology to enhance user experience is not limited to the use of Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, but to widen public access through modernisation and digitisation of collections and exhibitions.
  • Breaking down silos to forge a whole-of-government approach in such a specialized domain requires new skills and perspectives and these are being developed.
  • The new Indian Institute of Heritage that is being set up as a world class university aims to address these challenges.