Kamini Sawhney is the director of the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) in Bengaluru, India, a new museum which opened to the public in February 2023. MAP Bengaluru is one of the first digital art & photography museums in India. It was founded in 2016 by collector Abhishek Poddar.
As MAP’s first Director, Sawhney has brought together a young, inspired team, focused on creating a new museum experience for audiences in India. In this role, she has helped to shape a vision for MAP that seeks to inspire people to interact with art in ways that encourage humanity, empathy and a deeper understanding of the world we live in.
The museum is housed within a 44,000-square-foot state-of-the-art building, designed by leading Indian architect, Soumitro Ghosh, located in the heart of the city. It covers five floors and is home to several galleries, as well as an auditorium, a research library, a conservation lab, classrooms, a museum store and a cafe. The space has been designed with a particular focus on inclusion, accessibility and innovation.
MAP has a growing collection that includes over 18,000 works of art, predominantly from the subcontinent, ranging across mediums and time periods, from the 12th century to the present. The museum’s aim is to promote more public exposure to the significant cultural legacy of Indian arts and to act as a catalyst for change in the sector. It is driven by the notion that museums should have a beneficial impact on society.
According to the mission statement on the museum’s website:
“The Museum’s mission is to democratise art, making it as fun and relatable to everyone as possible! We hope to change the perception of museums and art by making our museum a melting pot of ideas, stories and cultural exchange. Ultimately, we want to inspire people to interact with art in ways that encourage humanity, empathy, and a deeper understanding of the world we live in.”