The V&A goes to India
October 18 2011
Picture: V&A
Interesting to see that one of the first major acts of the V&A's new director, Martin Roth, is to open a loan exhibition of the museum's paintings in India. His personal presence at the opening is an excellent move, and further proof that the UK's heritage can act as an unbeatable diplomatic, cultural and economic asset. The museum has also created a new India 'hub' on its website. From ZeeNews:
The Victoria & Albert Museum in London is carrying the cultural pact signed between India and Britain in July 2010 to the next level, with a series of art initiatives involving Indian cultural heritage. "The V&A Museum has a collection of 45,000 Indian art and objects of arts and it is natural that we should work on the collections together," Martin Roth, director of Victoria & Albert Museum, said here.
"We have also created a new India website to attract tourists and art lovers to the museum. India is a such a huge country and the tourism is growing," the director of the museum said. The museum, which opened a showcase of 100 Kalighat paintings at the Victoria Museum in Kolkata Saturday, has two more exhibitions on its roster to promote Indian heritage.
Kalighat paintings were devotional works offered at the Kalighat Temple in Kolkata, and depict Hindu religious figures. They were first painted in the 19th Century, and were a by-product of the European style of painting introduced to India by the British. you can see more examples from the V&A's collection here.
Later this year, another Indian exhibition will open at the V&A: 'Rabindranath Tagore: Poet and Painter' will assemble some fifty works by the artist (1861-1941) to celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birth. Opens December 11th till March 4th.
