When Attitudes Become Form: Museums, Nations and Politics

Speakers: Cho Rao, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Shilpa Gupta
Discussant: Arshiya Lokhandwala

June 11, 2015 | 6.30 pm
Visitors’ Centre, CSMVS, Mumbai

The history of museums is tied to the developments of international fairs and exhibitions in the 19th century and rose as nationalistic temples of culture and symbols of European power. Influencing the formation of national identity, citizenship, social values and cultural perspectives, museums and politics have been perennial bedfellows, shaping our views of both ourselves and of the world.

Museums have transformed themselves from cabinets of curiosity to centers of civic pride and prestige, representing our shared heritage. But lingering questions remain about politically charged relationships between aesthetics, contexts, and implied assumptions that govern how art and artifacts are displayed, interpreted and understood. While museums retain their influence on cultural production, they need to adapt to meet the demands of a rapidly changing global world order.

By examining the cultural, historical and political atmosphere of the societies in which museums were born and continue to operate, this discussion will attempt to further our understanding of the public museum, and its place at the centre of modern relations between culture and government.

Cho Rao is an arts and museum consultant, based in San Francisco. She has worked with several institutions such as the Asian Art Museum, the Contemporary Jewish Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Her research interests include art and globalization, the history of exhibition making, post-colonial studies, and contemporary curatorial practice.

Sabyasachi Mukherjee is the Director General of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), and also heads its postgraduate program in museology and conservation. He has initiated several innovative projects including the CSMVS Museum Modernization Plan, and also edits and publishes books and journals on Indian art and culture.

Arshiya Lokhandwala is the founder/curator of Lakeeren Gallery in Mumbai that has presented over 100 curated exhibitions and critical interventions. She writes and curates on biennales, large-scale exhibitions, feminism, performance and new media arts and is the curator of After Midnight: Indian Modernism to Contemporary India 1947/1997 at the Queens Museum, New York.

Shilpa Gupta is an artist based in Mumbai.  Her practice involves the use of found objects, interactive video, websites, photographs, sound and public performances to probe themes of consumer culture, security, militarism and human rights. She has exhibited at numerous biennales, triennales, galleries, museums, cultural centres and foundations in India and across the world