17. A Discussion on Nation’s Art Through Curatorial Design in National Museum of India

After independence, the National Museum of India was founded as an institution and a ceremonial space of the new nation where the Indian citizens can witness an ideal representation of the historic evolution of Indian civilization and art. Unlike the previous colonial institutions which represent an intellectual domain of the colony, with the intervention of the new nationalist government, with exhibition, strategic display design and the framing narrative, a shift in significance was made. This paper will discuss how the display of art and archaeological objects from India in National Museum of India is majorly a selection of early and mediaeval stone sculptures and paintings. Through this prioritization of certain materials, forms and genres among a large number and variety of objects of art, craft and culture, this representative exhibition has advertised the authority and importance of the art establishment of India and focused predominantly on celebrated notions of history and heritage of India. This paper will attempt to generate a central problem—in the visual reconstruction of India, how the national museum has curated a controlled image of the state designed towards making an international as well as a contemporary profile of historic ‘Indian art’ through its exhibition practices.