The former Victoria & Albert Museum opened in 1857 in the Town Barracks. In 1872, it shifted to its present venue in a grand Palladian building. Its slow decline led to a unique public-private partnership in 2003, when the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation, and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage got together to manage it. The Mayor is the museum chairman, the city commissioner co-chairman, while honorary director Tasneem Zakaria Mehta is an equal partner. “Most museums cannot make one move without asking the government. But I am a partner and not a government employee,” says Ms. Mehta. This gives her freedom to raise funds and make the museum’s collections relevant. “The concept of display is changing world over. We have to tell a story using the objects we have; that’s missing in our museums.” The museum is working on an ambitious expansion plan with a Modern Gallery, an auditorium, a children’s centre, more libraries and archives. It also partners with various galleries and museums to host exhibitions, like its recent tie-up with Amsterdam’s CoBrA Museum of Modern Art.
