Hasta La Ideas

Bengaluru, India opened a major cultural institution this month, the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP). In addition to the pre-modern and contemporary art and photography within its 60,000-piece collection, the five-story institution showcases textiles, posters and craft in an effort to eschew the industry’s elitism to create wider accessibility. “The entire differentiation between ‘high’ art and ‘low’ art, decorative arts and fine arts, is not an Indian concept,” says MAP’s founder Abhishek Poddar. As such, much of the museum is free to the public with fees waived weekly for any exhibitions that are priced. Their inaugural exhibit, Visible/Invisible, continues the museum’s mission to dismantle biases. Curated by MAP’s director Kamini Sawhney, the show confronts the male-dominated gaze within India’s art canon, presenting works that perpetuate depictions of women as desirable goddesses and opposing them with pieces that allow women to be mortal, vengeful and complicated. The three-year-long exhibit also includes transgender and non-binary artists. Learn more about the museum and its dedication to make space for marginalized communities at CNN.

Image courtesy of Museum of Art and Photography, Bangalore