DAG Museums

in the team

Executive, Design and Communications
Storyteller with one or more years of relevant work experience and a string portfolio, who can bring the art to life by creating graphics, videos and animations for social media, website, exhibitions, events and education programmes.

Senior Executive, Research and Content
Writer and researcher with two or more years of relevant work experience, who can build new perspectives on the collection and work across programmes to make art history accessible and engaging.

Senior Executive, Education
Arts educator with two or more years of relevant work experience, who can develop collaborations with educational institutions, and create learning experiences that enable creative expression and critical thinking.

All roles are based in Kolkata. Please share your CV with us at [email protected] by 15 March to apply.

Ghare Baire museum-exhibition is closing this Sunday, 28 November 2021.
We express our heartfelt gratitude to the people of Kolkata for the overwhelming response since we opened. We will return with new exhibitions soon. Until then we will continue to explore art with you online and through our programmes.
Do share with us your most cherished memory of being a part of our programmes at the Currency Building, and visit us one last time over the weekend.

What does it mean to break away from the limitations imposed or trauma inflicted upon a womxn’s body? What does it mean to find a new body language?
Last weekend at , Satakshi Nandy, accompanied by Abhradyuti Das, took us through an exploration of her experiments with these ideas. They staged a powerful and often uncomfortable performance, urging us to question our assumptions about our bodies, society, and politics.
A part of our ongoing series, "Languages of Art," the performance explored body languages within and beyond the frames. Join us as we continue the series this weekend. Link in bio. 🔗


Photographs by Parameshwar Halder

❈ 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥?
❈ 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴: 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤, 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘦 & 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦... 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 & 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨?
❈ 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘴 & 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 & 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮?

Pickle Factory & Ghare Baire, Currency Building, Kolkata, DAG Museums invite applications from early to mid-career dancers based in Calcutta & around, to create a 45 minute explorative performance & interaction on 𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 / 𝙐𝙣𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 to be performed at the museum galleries

→ 4 October: Application deadline
→ 13 November: Performance at museum galleries

To know more & apply, click here: bit.ly/Making_Unmaking_Meaning

✉ [email protected]
☎ 8420598675

'“We started with a lot of plans for creating a museum experience that would offer the very best and create intimate, thought-provoking encounters between viewers and the art. We wanted each visit to the museum to reveal a new perspective, a new insight. The pandemic delayed many of these plans but we are so pleased that now, we have a range of experiences, like the audio guide or the children’s activities, that can make each visit to the museum unique,” Ms. Chakravarty said.'

The Hindu reports on the weekend at and the new Museum Experiences that are waiting for you!

Photograph: Parameshwar Halder

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/ghare-baire-celebrating-200-years-of-bengal-art-reopens-again/article36603481.ece

‘Ghare Baire’, celebrating 200 years of Bengal art, reopens again The popular museum-exhibition highlights art in Bengal from the 18th to the 20th centuries

Playing with abstract forms, designing your own town square on a map, or telling stories through images are just some of the challenges children can opt for from among our wide range of activities. At Ghare Baire the artworks on display can inspire our imaginations in many ways.
Designed for young people (ages 6 and above) the new offer a way of creatively engaging with the collection at the museum. Do drop by soon to try out these and many more new . They are available in English and Bangla, free of cost during regular museum hours.

Dotty Dancing Dots is turning out to be one our most popular ! It asks young people to try and express their feelings about this artwork by Ganesh Haloi using tiny bindis that are part of our activities . And the responses so far have been absolutely fascinating.
The new series of Museum Activities at are designed specially for children and young people (ages 6 and above) to encourage a creative way of looking at the artworks. They are available in English and Bangla, free of cost during regular museum hours. Do drop by soon and try out our new !
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Ganesh Haloi
Figure Variation I
Acrylic on paper pasted on mount board, 2005
32.0 x 33.7 in.

"In education, the most important factor must be the inspiring atmosphere of creative activity. And therefore the primary function of our University should be the constructive work of knowledge. Men should be brought together and full scope given to them for their work of intellectual exploration and creation; and the teaching should be like the overflow water of this spring of culture, spontaneous and inevitable. Education can only become natural and wholesome when it is the direct fruit of a living and growing knowledge."
On Visva-bharati's one hundredth year, we remember the ideals of art, education and society on which Rabindranath Tagore had founded the centre of learning. We celebrate the culture of care and learning through which teachers and students have fostered its creative and critical spirit despite the odds.
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Rabindranath Tagore
Untitled
Water colour, pen and ink and pastel on paper, 1934
7.0 x 10.0 in.
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Rabindranath Tagore, "The Centre of Indian Culture"

"He [Nandalal Bose] did not perceive education as something divorced from other aspects of life... He encouraged his students to indulge their imagination, to look at the natural world and to read in its expressions the inner-most truths of life; to appreciate the beauty of poetry, of music, of the rasas; to be curious about the world, and to learn to express ones inner self freely. How could one be an artist without this training? An artist could not grow only within the four walls of a studio, and so, he took his students to practice art immersed in nature." - Dhirendra Krishna Deb Barman (1903-1995) on "Mastermoshai," Nandalal Bose.
On Visva-bharati's centenary, we celebrate through this series of posts some of the ideals of art, society, and education that shaped Kala-bhavana and the traditions of art practice nurtured by its teachers.
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Nandalal Bose
Untitled
Pen and ink on postcard
3.2 x 2.7 in.
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Desh Binodan: Nandalal Bose Special Issue (1982/83)

If it's difficult to travel too far from home during the pandemic, you can try flipping through someone else's travelogue. If they have a unique way of seeing the world and its changing colours, all the better!
The artist Gopal Ghose (1913-80) liked to call himself an 'India wanderer', having explored large parts of rural Bengal on his bicycle. It was perhaps his intimate mode of travelling—feeling the earth immediately under his wheels with its varied hues and textures—that prompted him to adopt a style bursting with energy and nature's spontaneity. 🚲
What are the different moods of the Bengal countryside that you detect in each of these artworks borrowed from his personal sketchbook?
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Gopal Ghose
Untitled
Pastel on paper, 1956-66
5.0 x 7.0 in.

Can you recognise the subject of this beautiful portrait by M.F. Pithawala (1872-1937)? Neither can we! But it's obvious that she has been waiting (somewhat impatiently) for her guests to return to .
Poets and artists have claimed that through their images and words they have the power to grant everlasting life to their subjects. Yet, if you go around the portrait gallery at Drishyakala, you will notice that many of the faces—however exquisitely painted—are unidentified. What a strange fate for these distinguished women and men, who were important enough to commission the best painters of their generation.
In focus
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M.F. Pithawala
Unidentified Parsi Lady
Oil on canvas, c. 1913
24.8 x 20.0 in.

It's not just the paintings that tell stories at our museums. We have a treasure trove of objects that belonged to the artists whose works are exhibited.
Have a closer look at the articles that belonged to one of India’s pioneering modern artists, Gaganendranath Tagore. We can see a cap, a pair of gloves, a watch, a magnifying glass, and some painting equipment. There's also a palette that has dried up, perhaps waiting for its colours to come back to life some day!
If you had to tell from these objects what kind of a person or artist Gaganendranath was, what would your guess be?

If you've been a part of an art class, chances are you were taught to represent perspective through lines, angles, and shapes that offer visual clues to the viewer. But without adhering to these markers, how does Nandalal Bose represent a vast expanse on a frame no bigger than a postcard, addressed to his daughter, Gauri Bhanja?
Using an earthy wash of colour and subtle tonal differences, Nandalal creates an intangible space that is devoid of any flora or fauna. He creates the illusion of perspective by placing three specks, whom we immediately recognise as human figures, moving in some unknown direction. Instead of using academic tools of visual representation, Nandalal seems to rely on our experiences and memories of being present in such vast landscapes to communicate the emotion of being overwhelmed by the grandeur of nature. In your imagination, what kind of a scene do you think he is depicting here? Is it a grand desert, an ocean shore, or perhaps some infinite and abstract space that we cannot fathom through our senses?
In this episode of we explore how Indian artists responded to the Western idea of in painting.
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Nandalal Bose
Untitled
Watercolour on postcard, 1948
3.5 x 5.5 in.

What a curious trick to try and pull: creating the illusion of the distances we see in front of us on a two dimensional, flat surface! Irrespective of who invented it, the use of perspective became so popular in Western art, we barely remember that it's only one of several ways to imagine space on the canvas.
Some of the earliest European artists who plied their trade in the colonies were landscape painters. Whether they were painting mountains, ruins, or cityscapes, perspective played a critical role, and artists were often judged on their ability to handle this technique. In this 1992 depiction of an urban dog-fight, Maniklal Banerjee shows a street disappearing into the distance. The sense of perspective is created by the trees that grow smaller, and the edges of the houses that form an angle, moving towards the vanishing point. His remarkably balanced composition and use of water colour, make the dogs appear larger—as the central protagonists of this otherwise un-peopled city.
In this episode of we explore how Indian artists responded to the Western idea of in painting.
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Maniklal Banerjee
Street Dog
Water colour on silk pasted on board, 1992
14.5 x 18.7 in.

Are you a student, a researcher or an artist interested in the writing of modern Indian art history?

Register now for 'The Backrooms of Art History: Students' & Researchers' Roundtable,' a workshop with Prof. Tapati Guha-Thakurta to explore the questions and issues surrounding it.

Saturday, 21 August 2021
11.00 am – 12.30 pm

Registration link: https://forms.gle/DSvUZrRyQN8xX9Lt7

How can a teacher inspire their students to retain their own artistic expression while moving towards a shared vision? Often the works of students, carrying traces of their teacher’s vision, serve as a living archive of the legacy of the teacher.
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As a pioneer of the Bengal School of Art, Abanindranath Tagore tried to develop a teaching method that broke free from the constraints of traditional teacher-student dynamics, encouraging his students to foster their own language of creative expression. In this work we see one of his students, Prosanto Roy, revisiting his teacher’s depictions of the Arabian Nights series. While both artists show absolute mastery over calligraphy in their Persian stylisation of the Bengali script, Roy departs from his teacher’s treatment of the same corpus by juxtaposing several overlapping images with the same frame, without establishing a single focal point. The fragmentary frames come together to tie the larger story into one unified artwork. Can you guess which story he might be telling us here?
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As a part of the celebration of ‘Abanindranath at 150’ in collaboration with this series explores the influence of Tagore on his students as a teacher and a visionary.
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Prosanto Roy (1908-73)
Untitled (Arabian Nights Series)
Water colour on paper, c. 1950s
12.2 x 8.7 in.
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Imagine you had the privilege of walking into the south veranda of Jorasanko to meet Abanindranath Tagore in the midst of artistic experiments with friends and pupils, as part of the Bichitra Studio. What could that be like? Let's hear it from Abanindranath himself.
'We hardly ever painted inside our rooms. So, picture this, if you can. I would sit at one one end of the veranda, with all my students occupying the other end. Shami Uzma brought his own mat to sit on. He painted like the rest through the day and in the evenings turned towards Mecca to say his prayers. The door to the south veranda remained open to all. People came and went as they pleased, painting, singing, chatting. That is how I am used to painting.' - Abanindranath Tagore, Jorasankor Dhare [Around Jorasanko].
In this light-hearted drawing, Nandalal Bose, who was one of the most versatile students to have trained under Abanindranath Tagore, captures the exhilarating energy of those days. The spirit of Bichitra also inspires the series of workshops, performances, and talks that we are hosting to celebrate Abanindranath's 150th year. If you had to sum it up in three words or phrases, how would you put it? Do let us know in the comments.
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Nandalal Bose
Untitled (The Artists' Studio, Jorasanko)
Ink on newspaper print, 1920s
8.0 x 9.2 in.

What role does a teacher play in helping their students realise the potential of their ideas and feelings? Is it possible that in doing so—not by imposing, but by gentle guidance—they can bring about changes in society through their philosophical teachings?
At the turn of the 20th century, Abanindranath Tagore and his students tried to forge a new cultural identity for India that was an amalgamation of various influences from across Asia. They looked not only to different lands but also to different time periods. For instance, at Sister Nivedita’s insistence, Abanindranath sent his students—among whom were Nandalal Bose and Asit Kumar Haldar—to explore the murals of Ajanta as part of Lady Herringham’s team. In this depiction of Queen Prabhavati Gupta done in the Ajanta style, we see her conducting her royal duties with her son, Divakara Sena on her lap. Through his lyrical lines and expert use of the wash technique, Haldar translates the ancient murals' visual language to imbue a frozen moment with great emotional depth.
A part of our on-going celebrations around 'Abanindranath at 150' in collaboration with , this series of posts explores the influence had on his students as a teacher and a visionary.
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Asit Kumar Haldar
Queen Prabhavati
Water colour on handmade paper, 1953
28.7 x 20.5 in.
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The Visva-Bharati Quarterly (May - October 1942), Abanindra Number, edited by K.R. Kripalani

Is there a particular fable or story that you keep returning to throughout your life? It could be because it acts as a compass against which you can chart your course, or simply because some element of it refuses to leave your imagination alone.
It was in the late-1890s that Abanindranath Tagore first took up the theme of Radha and Krishna, reinterpreting the verses of the mediaeval poet, Chandidas. And, as if to book-end his artistic career, he returned to them in his Krishna Mangal series forty years down the line. By this time, however, he had experimented with re-writing myths in the Jatra form and as the visual texts for Pats. They had come to life in new ways for the ageing artist.🎭
Did you catch the conversation between Prof. Ananda Lal and Prof. Debashish Banerji on Abanindranath Tagore's engagement with the stage that we co-hosted with to celebrate the artist's 150th birth anniversary? The full discussion, where they delve into his forays into acting, writing, and painting for the stage, will be up on our Youtube channel soon.
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Abanindranath Tagore
Untitled
Pastel on cardboard
11.5 x 8.7 in.

'Sumona Chakravarty of DAG said: “Abanindranath’s work is timeless, we continue to be amazed and delighted by it. He witnessed an important point in the nation’s history when there were questions around the identity of India, and he responded by creating a new language for art that was so wide-ranging and diverse that even today it is a powerful reminder of the syncretic tradition we have inherited and need to safeguard.”'

The Hindu previews 'Abanindranath at 150: Bichitra Revisited' by Victoria Memorial, Kolkata and DAG. You're joining us for the celebrations tomorrow, right?

For the full list of events and registration visit dagworld.com/vmh-dag

Celebrations begin to mark 150 years of iconic artist Abanindranath Tagore ‘His unique interpretation of swadeshi themes created a new awakening and heralded a revival of Indian art’

We are so excited to partner with The Heritage Lab for this! Inviting teachers and educators in the Delhi area to join in on August 20th at the Bikaner House. More details in the link!

Time Traveling with Balthazar Solvyns : a Teachers Hackathon Inviting teachers for a hackathon to test-drive the classroom of the future at an exhibition of art (etchings) by Balthazar Solvyns.

What do you imagine the Palki-bearers are discussing with each other, as they wait patiently for their passenger's night out to come to an end?
If you train your ears you might just hear the ti**le of bells and anklets inside, or the clinking of glasses. The Chowpala Palki, according to Solvyns's notes, was 'a kind of palankeen used at nautches,' which means there's probably a night of revelry unfolding just out of sight. The Palki itself is an image of hedonistic pleasure: reclined seating with pillows and low railings, and a decorated, curved hood. Solvyns's eye is inevitably drawn to the people, who wait in three huddles just outside. He depicts them using classical anatomical principles, accentuating the muscular physique of people who engage in physical labour.
If you're in Delhi and feel it's safe to travel, don't miss .world's exhibition, 'The Hindus: Baltazard Solvyns in Bengal' at the Bikaner House.
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F. B. Solvyns
A Chowpala Palkee
Hand-tinted etching on paper pasted on paper
14.7 x 10.2 in.

Do you agree with those who say that you can never look at the same work of art twice? It's not that the artwork itself changes, but because we change as people, we tend to notice new details or feel differently about them. The same thing happened after we noticed the different types of in the works of Baltazard —we started looking afresh at the works of other European artists from around the same time.
The uncle-nephew duo, Thomas and William Daniell, and James Baillie Fraser did not set out to paint the people of India or its material cultures in the way Solvyns did. They painted landscapes they encountered here faithfully, capturing details that may have meant little to them at the time. To those of us who view these works two hundred years down the line, these details turn out to be valuable historical annotations. When we started noticing the many Palkis that are peppered across their landscapes, we also started wondering about where they were going, or what conversations were taking place among the bearers. In some, they stand a long way off from the 'City of Palaces,' whose skyline stretches along the horizon. At others, they are in the thick of things, perhaps taking a breather as their passenger gets down to marvel at the monument. How do you think the Palki-bearers would have felt if they knew they were being immortalized through these artworks—albeit anonymously?
If you're in Delhi and feel it's safe to travel, don't miss .world's exhibition, 'The Hindus: Baltazard Solvyns in Bengal' at the Bikaner House.
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Thomas Daniell and William Daniell
View Taken on the Esplanade, Calcutta
Handtinted engraving on paper, 1797
17.7 x 23.5 in.
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Thomas Daniell and William Daniell
The Writers' Buildings, Calcutta
Handtinted engraving on paper, 1797
17.7 x 23.5 in.
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James Baillie Fraser
View of Calcutta from the Glacis on Fort William
Colour engraving on paper, 1826
12.5 x 17.7

During a guided tour of some months back, an eight or ten year-old remarked, "Oh, so they had many different kinds of palkis just like we have many different kinds of cars?" Sometimes, to appreciate how delightfully diverse life has always been, all it takes is a common sense reading of the past based on what we know of the present.
Coming from Europe, François Baltazard Solvyns must have been familiar with the litter car—box-like vehicles carried on shoulders by human beings. In late 18th century India, he encountered many varieties of it, some of which were indigenous, while others were a result of cultural exchanges with Europeans. The Long Palkee, for example, was from the latter school. With beautifully crafted ornamental heads attached to the bearers' poles, slated windows to ensure circulation of air, and lamps to ensure safe travels, they must have been quite a fashion statement on Calcutta's streets. Solvyns, however, was always careful to draw attention to the labour put in by the palki-bearers, as we see here. After all, as someone who had documented the different people he saw in India, how could he ignore their presence even when depicting modes of transportation?
The first-ever exhibition of all 288 sketches from Les Hindoûs by Baltazard Solvyns opens today at the Bikaner House, New Delhi, by .world. Don't miss this opportunity to visit this landmark event if you're in Delhi and can travel safely, or to engage online with the collection through a range of exciting talks and discussions.
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F. B. Solvyns
A Long Palkee
Hand-tinted etching on paper pasted on paper
14.7 x 10.2 in.