Aditya Sisodia

Museums had long served as custodians of history and repositories of cultural treasures, dating back to ancient times when Ennigaldi-Nanna’s museum in Mesopotamia pioneered the concept of curated collections. Today, museums have proliferated exponentially, holding artefacts and nations’ collective cultural wealth. However, can museums transcend their role as mere storehouses of historical relics? Can they become homes for memories and catalysts for dialogue?

These questions took centre stage during the inaugural Bihar Museum Biennale at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai on June 3. Organized by Outlook in collaboration with the Bihar Museum, the event offered a glimpse into the forthcoming second edition of the ambitious Bihar Museum Biennale in August. Its objective was to present a fresh perspective on museums, transforming these often imposing institutions into more accessible and democratic spaces.

Architect Neera Adarkar, part of the panel of distinguished professionals, including Anjani Kumar Singh (Director General, Bihar Museum), Kaiwan Mehta (Managing Editor at Domus India), Amrit Gangar (film scholar, historian, and critic), Nataraj Dasgupta (Director, Central Research & Training Laboratory), Bose Krishnamachari (co-founder and President of the Kochi Biennale Foundation), and Subodh Gupta (contemporary Indian artist), expressed the need to bridge the gap between art, architecture, culture, and memory through a museum biennale.

Traditional museums often evoke a sense of hierarchy and intimidation, leaving little room for discussion or debate. In contrast, a museum biennale aims to fill that void, bridging various disciplines and engaging the public in meaningful dialogue. It serves as a platform for decoding colonial mindsets surrounding art and fostering inclusivity among the Indian masses, who are often excluded from the realm of high art.

The unique concept of the museum biennale draws inspiration from the art biennale movement, which repurposes found spaces as sites for conversation and emotion. According to Outlook Editor Chinki Sinha, the city can be seen as a museum, with memories embedded in its tastes, sounds, and even songs. By broadening the definition of a museum, the event challenged conventional notions and urged attendees to consider their bodies as museums of experiences and memories.

Kaiwan Mehta reinforced the idea that museums can evolve into more dynamic spaces, going beyond the role of passive repositories. The Bihar Museum Biennale emphasized the rich art and history of Bihar, which is intricately woven into the fabric of Indian heritage. Anjani Kumar Singh highlighted Bihar’s contributions to art and culture, emphasizing that the state’s history is, in many ways, the history of India itself.

To celebrate Bihar’s deep-rooted connection with Indian art, the performance of traditional ‘Launda Bach,’ a rustic folk dance that explores themes of migration and gender norms, brought to life the 3rd-century Mauryan sculpture of ‘Yakshi.’ This performance encapsulated the cultural history of Bihar, shedding light on its significant artistic heritage and provoking contemplation on the social and political contexts in which art emerges.

Art and museum biennials are vital in fostering community engagement with culture, history, and politics. They create a sense of consciousness about identity and pride in one’s cultural heritage in an inclusive manner. In a world where reductive narratives shape our understanding of the past, present, and future, initiatives like the Bihar Museum Biennale offer a platform for diverse perspectives, challenging historical distortions and enabling a more comprehensive understanding of history.

The Bihar Museum Biennale represents a paradigm shift in how we perceive and engage with museums. It challenges the traditional notions of these institutions, transforming them into dynamic and inclusive spaces that foster dialogue, exploration, and reflection. The biennale catalyses change by highlighting Bihar’s cultural heritage and amplifying marginalized voices, disrupting reductive narratives and shaping a more comprehensive understanding of history and our place within it. It exemplifies the potential of art and museum biennials to reshape our present, future, and even our understanding of the past.

Published in Outlook

Featured Image credit: Summit Kumar Shaurya