The Government Museum, situated in the heart of Bengaluru on Kasturba Road, is being restored and curated after close to 150 years. To facilitate this process, the the museum along with its neighbouring Venkatappa Art Gallery will be shut for a year or more.
The museum was planned and built in 1877 by Col. Richard Hiram Sankey, the then Chief Engineer of Mysore State. The Annex block and the passageway were later added in 1962 with the provision of a store on the first floor to cater to the growing needs. Since then, the museum has never had restoration work done both on the exteriors and interiors.
Poor display and condition
Due to the appalling status of the built heritage and poor display of objects within the museum, the Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka, has mandated the Karnataka Tourism Infrastructure Limited (KTIL) to undertake the upgradation, conservation and curation of the Government Museum.
Speaking to The Hindu, Kavyashree, Deputy Director of the Government Museum and the Venkatappa Art Gallery, said that the museum is being renovated for the very first time since it’s inception and the museum will be curated in a way to make it much more interesting for youngsters “The renovation work has been in planning for almost four years now. We have begun the restoration work and we will require the museum to be closed for a year or more to do this,” she said, adding that display has to be made appealing for the current generation.
Only eight categories on display
It was identified that of the 22 categories of objects present in the museum, only eight categories have been displayed in the gallery spaces available. “Close to 50% of the artifacts had been kept in the store as our display method was not attractive nor did we have enough security to display them. We plan to bring in audio and visual guides for every display. We also plan to put up an interactive installation for each display category which will attract students and youngsters. With the restoration work we are hoping to get sensors, burglary detectors and more security equipment,” Ms. Kavyashree added.
The Tourism Department has allocated ₹8.5 crore for the restoration of the museum, with provision for additional funds. The planning for restoration and upgradation has been taken up by consultants Heritage Matters, with conservation architects Apoorva Goyal and Akhila Udayshankar, alongside conservation architect Saikamala R. at site, who have strategized for a dove-tailed approach to ensure coordinated restoration of both the building and the collections.
Holistic approach
Ms. Saikamala said that the museum conservation approach will be holistic and will not change the look of the museum as it is a heritage site. “The museum is lime plastered and incompatible with cement. There is a lot of vegetation growing in the building, which requires immediate attention. We also found out that the museum does not have a catalog.”
Meanwhile, the Venkatappa Art Gallery will also remain closed. “Since the gallery is within the premises of the museum, it will not be safe to have the public visiting the gallery during the restoration work. We also have one ticketing and accounting system for both the gallery and the museum, operating only the gallery will not be viable,” said Ms. Kavyashree, adding both will reopen together.
