Paintings, panels, platforms: Museum of Art and Photography wraps up ‘Art is Life’ festival
In this photo essay Bengaluru’s popular creativity hub, we showcase a range of exhibits and founder insights.
Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 830 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.
Bengaluru’s Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) wrapped up its 2024 calendar of activities with the weekend festival, Art is Life: New Beginnings. See our coverage of two years of exhibitions at MAP here.
The museum and its galleries now constitute an established hub of creativity for the bustling city, with engaging experiences across music, photography, sculpture, paintings, textiles, ceramics, and other visual arts. Community and educational activities include storytelling, workshops, expert talks, and curated walkthroughs.
“Bengaluru has embraced MAP in ways I could never have imagined. We’ve learned so much along the way as we work to take the institution to the next level,” said MAP founder Abhishek Poddar, in a conversation with actor and Rangashankara founder Arundhati Nag.
Unveiled to the public on February 18, 2023, MAP aims to ignite creativity and connect people through innovative experiences and meaningful dialogue. The focus is not just on tradition and heritage, but on contemporary forms of engagement such as digital platforms.
In this photo essay, we feature some highlights from the 2024 festival as well as crafts and artworks from the exhibitions The Forgotten Souvenir (mica paintings by Indian artists during colonial times), Visible/Invisible (representation of women in art) and Chay Reds, Ferrous Black (stories of Indian trade textiles in Sri Lanka).
There were workshops on traditional block printing (by Tharangini Studio), crochet (by Crafty), and film poster design (by Anand Tharaney). Digital tools helped create new experiences for visualising MAP’s textile collection by projection onto a giant mirrored surface.
The early days of music technology were captured in a vinyl listening session by Arumugam Murugan, transporting audiences to a different era. Other sessions addressed AI and art (by Tara Kelton) and immersive sound (Farah Mulla and Fidrat Yildiz).
There was a screening of the award-winning film Madhyantara, and a discussion with filmmaker Dinesh Shenoy. Some of Bengaluru’s oldest photo studios shared anecdotes and images capturing the transformation of the city.
A particularly engaging panel addressed the various microcultures in Bengaluru with diverse hobbyist groups. Speakers from the Bangalore Astronomy Club, Playful Pursuits, Bang Birds, and Karnataka Quiz Association shared highlights and tips from their journeys in community building and knowledge exchange.
MAP has forged a range of art connections with like-minded museums around the world. The festival featured two screenings of Museums Without Borders, a digital collaboration with the National Museum of Asian Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Karnataka’s rich cultural heritage was showcased through folk performances of Yakshagana, Somana Kunita, and Kamsale. The festival’s climax was a concert by award-winning multi-lingual singer Rekha Bharadwaj, who drew a packed house despite the heavy rains outside.
One of the endearing aspects of the festival was the animating presence of sign language interpreters from ASLI (Association of Sign Language Interpreters). They even interpreted music performances in sign language, drawing wide appreciation from the entire audience and highlighting the importance of hearing, which most people take so much for granted.
“This year, we focused on creating spaces for connection, dialogue, and joy. The overwhelming response has reaffirmed our belief that art truly belongs to everyone,” Poddar signs off.
Now, what have you done today to pause in your busy schedule and harness your creative side for a better world?
Rekha Bharadwaj
(All photographs were taken by Madanmohan Rao on location at MAP.)