Shubhasree Purkayastha, a Delhi-based art historian who is the Education Officer at the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
With a degree in Art History, Criticism and Conservation and an MPhil in Visual Arts, Purkayastha has been working in the museum field since 2013. She worked with the National Museum, New Delhi in 2014, where she was managing exhibitions, lecture series and outreach activities.
Always active in social media platforms, she shares fantastic content related to art and history. During the pandemic lockdown she has used social media platforms creatively for engaging audience for MAP Bangalore.
In 2020, in collaboration with the India Foundation for Arts, Bangalore, Purkayastha was set to bring a unique art exhibition – ‘Mysterious Mothers of the Museum’ – to one of the biggest multipurpose museums of India, the Assam State Museum, Guwahati.
Keen to help India’s museum sector develop, she has said, “In India, I think the culture of museums and visiting museums still lags far behind. People often consider them as boring dead spaces, holding objects of the past which have no function in the present. This outlook must change.
“We have made significant progress in the field in the last couple of years, and certain museums across the country are doing a tremendously successful job in attracting more visitors. But I feel there is still a long way to go.
“A matter of utmost importance in India today is to raise awareness about the importance of heritage preservation and education among the layman, especially among children. I hope one day people in our country realise that becoming a doctor or an engineer is not the only means of defining ‘success’, and give the liberal arts the respect and attention they deserve.”