Have you heard of Human Brain Museum? Or seen the Halmidi - oldest known Kannada language inscription - at Government Museum, Bengaluru?
If not, then probably you can make a head start today. May 18 is International Museum’s Day, a day which has been celebrated since 1977 but it is probably the first time, two ministries - Ministry of Kannada and Culture and Ministry of IT & BT and Tourism, have come together to hold the event on such a scale. From May 18-21, major museums like Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum, Government Museum, HAL Heritage Centre and Aerospace Museum, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, National Gallery of Modern Art, Gandhi Bhavan and Human Brain Museum (NIMHANS) will be buzzing with activities.
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From tellfie booths in public spaces, treasure hunt contests, museum walks, talks, workshops and seminars and film screenings, the efforts are aimed at increasing Bengaluru public’s engagement with spaces which a lot of us know of but haven’t experienced. “It is a good start. Someone needs to take that first step,” says Tejshvi Jain of ReReeti, which is organising activities at Government Museum, Bengaluru.
The outfit which is working toward bridging the gap between visitors and museums by making the latter more relevant and relatable. “We have really been looking at curating experiences so we don’t use museums as a venue. We work with museum collection. The theme this year is “Contested Histories” and Shreya Biswas, who is conducting one of the storytelling sessions for children in the age group of 8-12, is dealing with the opposite of the theme. She will be talking about peace with the environment,” adds Tejshvi.
There is a treasure hunt for adults created by Sparrowz to be played on the mobile phones, story writing workshops for kids by authors Andaleeb Wajid and Aparna Raman. Prepared with a long-term vision for one of the oldest museums in India established in 1865, ReReeti is firstly aiming at convincing the authorities to create a year-long programme involving communities and second, creating a website. Through an interactive installation at the site, the visitors data will be collected to be utilised for future purpose.
KARNATAKA - BENGALURU - 06/07/2015 : Karnataka State Government Museum on Kasturba road, in Bengaluru on July 06, 2015. Government Museum (Bangalore) established in 1865 by the Mysore State with the guidance of Surgeon Edward Balfour who founded the museum in Madras and supported by the Chief Commissioner of Mysore, L.B. Bowring is one of the oldest museums in India and the second oldest museum in South India. It is now an Archaeological Museum and has a rare collection of archaeological and geological artifacts including old jewellery, sculpture, coins and inscriptions. The museum is also home to the Halmidi inscription, the earliest Kannada inscription (450 AD). Photo: K. Murali Kumar.
Priyank Kharge, Minister of IT & BT and Tourism, one of the key initiators of the project says, "If you ask someone about State Museum in Bangalore, although they would have crossed that imposing red building several times, they wouldn't know it to be the State Museum. The idea is to get people to see what we have and we really have a lot of culture, heritage, science, innovation to show to people. Lalbagh flower show is not just a treat for the eyes but also a treat for someone who loves Botany. That is why I have been insisting on a calendar of events for the city," says the young minister over the phone.
Though it is too early to say, if Museum Day Celebrations will become an annual affair, but for this year, the Government is going the whole hog. "We are partnering with Radio Mirchi for publicity. We are trying to make the whole thing fun and participative so we are installing tellfie booths not just outside these museums but also in malls and other popular hangout spaces. So, get a fun selfie there and share your experiences - it could be a curious artefact, a bad experience or an amazing discovery you made at a museum - on social media using hashtag #MyMuseumStory and there are a lot of prizes to be won," says Manjula, Commissioner, Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage.
The departments have launched a wide reaching public campaign celebrating museums under the theme of 'Once Upon a Time'. While the efforts are indeed well-intended, the real challenge would be to sustain it.
