Learning rarely occurs in isolation, it requires a meeting of the minds, community, and dialogue. The same holds true for the museum sector in India. There is a growing interest within the sector to come together and learn from each other. To learn from a community that is scattered but bound by a sector that is ready to loosen the grip on its colonial conditioning and in doing so, create room for a constructivist museum approach in India.

Two such conferences that aimed to do just that have been held this month alone (March 2023). One of them is the Dstories | Museum Biennale | Creating Cultural Destinations organised by Design Factory in collaboration with the Government of Gujarat. Its aim was to bring together individuals and universities related to the cultural field so that they could share their stories and experiences on relevant topics. The second was the two-day Educators’ Conference at CSMVS, Mumbai. It was focused on the education and outreach practices within the museum and was attended by well-known museums, cultural institutions, and NGOs.

An image from the Museum Biennale. Credits: Bulbul Hinglajia

The next big one in this lineup is the ‘International Museum Expo’ being organised by the Ministry of Culture from 18th – 20th May 2023 in Delhi. The three-day event will be a “knowledge-sharing platform” where experts from the field will discuss best practices and other discourses around museology, conservation, and heritage.

These conferences are building an enhanced understanding of the field and associated practices as well as opening the space up for collaborations. Below are thoughts by two conference participants, Bulbul Hinglajia, Curator with the Government of India, and Ruta Waghmare-Baptista, Curator (Collections, Education and Outreach) at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum about the Educators’ Conference by CSMVS and the Museum Biennale respectively.

The recently concluded Educators’ Conference at the CSMVS brought together the Education and Outreach teams from some of India’s most well-known museums, NGOs, and cultural institutions. Its aim was to start a conversation about innovative strategies and practices implemented in the participants’ own institutions to critically engage their audiences with their collections. The conference provided the participants with a platform to discuss and reflect on best practices and learn the many creative strategies to attract new as well as repeat audiences, especially during challenging times such as the pandemic, and today, in a post-pandemic world. Museums and cultural organisations have an obligation to promote inclusive learning The way ahead for cultural educators are collaborations and capacity-building networks to ensure the holistic development of outreach programmes, as they are the key to increasing visibility and footfalls, both in person and online, for any cultural institution.

Ruta presenting at the Educators’ Conference at CSMVS. Credits: Ruta Waghmare-Baptista

The ‘Museum Biennale: Creating Cultural Destinations’ was held at India’s most prominent Memorial & Museum called Smritivan, Bhuj, Gujarat, with the objective to celebrate the evolution of cultural spaces and discuss museums as cultural destinations in India.
The conference was a combination of inspirational talks, panel discussions, interactive workshops, and cultural performances. Through guided and curated tours to cultural spaces in Gujarat, the three-day biennale enhanced the participants’ understanding of the kind of work Gujarat is doing with regard to its museums and cultural heritage. Each day concluded with performances that made the experience even more immersive for the participants.

Exhibition design was a theme largely explored at the conference. It drew attention to the significance of digital, immersive, and narrative spaces at the Museum. One noteworthy point that stood out was the emphasis on the intersection of museum collections and technology. Instead of using only either one of these approaches, the Museum can tell the story of collections with the thoughtfully designed use of technology. This combination of approaches may lead to a renewed public perception of the museum as a cultural destination. This was an important gap addressed at the conference.

An image from a presentation at Museum Biennale. Credits: Bulbul Hinglajia

Over the course of three days, the Museum Biennale created a symphony of art, culture, and creativity imprinting a lasting impression on museum visitors of diverse age groups.

Museum conferences can have a transformative impact on the museum industry in India by providing a platform for dialogue and reflection on a wide range of topics, including social justice, environmental sustainability, and cultural diversity. They have the potential to be sites of decolonization and resistance, by foregrounding the perspectives and experiences of marginalized communities and challenging the dominant narratives, and prioritizing the inclusion and representation of diverse voices. To be further efficient, museum conferences in India need to address issues of power and privilege within the museum industry and embrace a commitment to social responsibility and ethical practice. Only by engaging in critical reflection and dialogue can museum conferences in India contribute to a museum culture that is truly responsive to the needs and concerns of the wider society, and that plays a meaningful role in promoting positive social change.

About Ruta Waghmare-Baptista:

About Bulbul Hinglajia: