The cultural infrastructure in India is soon to be greatly enhanced as plans for two new museums are underway. One will be located in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and scheduled to open in 2014 while the second is being planned in Bihar, east India and scheduled to open in 2015.
The 552,300 sq. ft Kolkata Museum of Modern Art (KMoMA) will house a collection of art ranging from 18th century Indian art through to works of the present day. “KMoMA’s content will be built and programmed by joining hands with museums in the region, major museums across India and some of the finest museums abroad,” says Rakhi Sarkar, managing trustee of KmoMA. “We hope this will provide a platform for local and international artists,” said Sarka.
The proposed museum in Bhar, on the other hand, will be built on a 13-acre site in the state capital Patna, and it’s development will be handled by the UK culture consultancy Lord Cultural Resrouces, with an estimated budget of $80m. “Great figures of ancient India—Buddha, Mahavir and Ashoka as well as scholars and poets of the court—will be featured in the museum, which will focus on the contribution of what is now Bihar to Indian and Asian civilisation,” says Barry Lord, co-president of Lord Cultural Resources.
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