Manasi Prasad is the director of the Indian Music Experience Museum (IME), India’s first interactive music museum. The institution first opened to the public in 2019 and is on a mission to increase people’s understanding and appreciation of the diversity of Indian music. It takes a deep dive into the evolution of Indian music through a range of interactive, multi-sensory exhibits.
Prasad has always had a passion for music and is an accomplished Indian classical vocalist with more than two decades of concert experience, as well as a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Information Science and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore.
“I think the three things that a music museum needs are music, engineering, and management,” Prasad told blooloop in 2022. “Somehow, without knowing it, I was preparing myself all my life.”
Before taking on her current role, Prasad worked as a banker on Wall Street and in Bangalore. In parallel to this, she performed at festivals and concert venues around the world. Travelling highlighted to her how little the world knows, beyond a few stereotypes, about India and Indian classical music:
“This notion of relevance, of communication, of making this entire world of Indian music and the arts, in general, more accessible, is something that has resonated with me throughout my artistic journey.”
Her aim is to grow the understanding and appreciation of Indian music, from the traditional to the contemporary, around the world.
“In that process, we want to build community through music. That is something that we believe very strongly. It’s concerned with the understanding, education and appreciation of Indian music, but it’s also about building communities around that.”
The museum works with several partners across the community and has created programmes to bring children from disadvantaged backgrounds into the museum, where they can connect with the exhibits and enjoy educational workshops. It has also created a special setting where neurodivergent children can connect with the museum.