“It’s ironic that India, with its rich and diverse artistic heritage, can boast of some of the most empty art museums in some of the most crowded cities of the world. How do we account for this seeming disinterest? It isn’t that Indians are collectively indifferent to art as a people. It’s simply a sign that our museums need to be drastically rehauled into the present,” notes Abhishek Poddar, founder of the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP) in Bengaluru – India’s first major private museum, which tries to make art and culture more accessible, and increase people’s appreciation for their country’s heritage.

Are local communities interested in Indian art and culture? What is Abhishek Poddar’s motivation as an art collector to become a museum founder? And what is his vision to enhance India’s museum-going culture with his MAP project in Bengaluru?

Join us for this member-only talk with Abhishek Poddar in conversation with Dr. Thomas Kellein, Director of Bergos Art Consult in Zurich, art historian and curator, on the evolving art and museum culture in India live at our office or online on Zoom.

This event is for Asia Society Members only. How to become a member?

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Abhishek Poddar, founder of MAP, is a prominent collector and patron of the arts in India. He has been collecting art since high school and has created a significant collection of South Asian art, craft and antiquities, including modern and contemporary art and photography. He is the force behind the upcoming Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), in Bengaluru, where he serves as a trustee and to which he donated the initial leadership gift and a substantial portion of the family’s art collection. Besides serving on various boards and committees in India, Poddar also serves on the advisory committees of the India-Europe Foundation for New Dialogues, headquartered in Rome and on the Lincoln Centre Global Advisory Council. He was named as one of Asia’s 2018 Heroes of Philanthropy by Forbes Magazine.

Dr. Thomas Kellein is Director of Bergos Art Consult in Zurich, Art Historian and Curator of a major Written Art Collection focusing on calligraphy and contemporary art in Europe, the U.S., the Far East and the Arab countries including North Africa and Iran. After graduating with a PhD in art history, Mr. Kellein held many curatorial and directorial positions, among them Director of the Kunsthalle Basel, Director of the Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Founder of Garten-Landschaft Ostwestfalen-Lippe. He was Professor of Art History at the University of Freiburg and Jury Member for Hasselblad Prize, Gothenburg; Benesse Prize, Venice; Wolfgang Hahn Preis, Cologne; and Kunstpreis Böttcherstrasse, Bremen. Bergos is a corporate partner of Asia Society Switzerland.