A copy of the Magna Carta, United Kingdom’s famous charter of rights, a 15th century bronze statue of Belvedere Apollo from Italy, and an 18th century Fahua-lidded jar from China would be among the objects of cultural significance on display at the special Culture Corridor which would be set up at the venue of the G-20 summit in the national capital next week.
India’s contribution would be Panini’s Ashtadhyayi, the ancient text.
While these would be among the physical objects on display, there would also be a digital museum for which France has shared the iconic painting Mona Lisa, Germany the Gutenberg’s Bible and Mexico a statue of the deity ‘Coatlicue’.
Envisioned as a legacy project, the Culture Corridor-G-20 Digital Museum has been conceptualised by the Ministry of Culture to represent and celebrate the shared heritage of G-20 members and invitee countries and will create a “museum in the making”.
This exhibition will be unveiled at ‘Bharat Mandapam’, the venue for the G-20 Leaders’ Summit, on September 9.
Submissions were requested from G-20 countries and nine guest nations under five categories: Object of Cultural Significance (as a physical display); Iconic Cultural Masterpiece (as a digital display); Intangible Cultural Heritage (digital display); Natural Heritage (digital display); and Artefact Related to Democratic Practices (physical or digital display).
All G-20 member countries and guest nations have confirmed their participation in the heritage project, a senior official in the Ministry of Culture said.
The exhibition will also showcase a 12-ft digital cube which will display the iconic masterpieces through anamorphic content. The cube will also celebrate the objects related to democratic practices from time immemorial, which would include a text from Riga Veda.
In the natural heritage category, United States has submitted the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Netherlands the Wadden Sea, and India the Himalayas, among others.
The G-20 nations had arrived at a consensus on cultural issues such as the need to address the destruction of cultural heritage in situations of conflict, the curbing of illicit trafficking of artefacts, the restitution of cultural property, and the need to protect living heritage, specially of indigenous people following which an outcome document named ‘The Kashi Culture Pathway’ was released at the fourth Culture Working Group meeting held in Varanasi.
The first two Culture Working Group meetings were held in Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh) and Bhubaneswar (Odisha) while the third was held in Hampi (Karnataka).
