Get the state out of the art…..Tasneem Zakaria Mehta
How to make our museums more dynamic and attractive
How to make our museums more dynamic and attractive
The simple statement that “no one is interested in taking on the responsibility and challenge of reviving our museums” does not represent the real saga of these great repositories of our culture, our identity, our history and our present talent, in particular the National Museum. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Certainly, leadership is the need of the hour if we are to rescue these great institutions from irreparable damage. There are many fine art historians with substantial experience both in India and abroad, who would jump at the challenge of bringing alive the National Museum. But to attract such talent, the government must give up its “mai baap” approach and not interfere in the running of museums. It must create an enabling environment for the experts to succeed.
Of course, relinquishing control is never easy and there are many systemic blocks. But it is a precondition for success. It has been done in other areas, so why not culture?
First, the right person must be appointed as director. No art historian of repute is going to apply, and they need to be persuaded. The government must go out of its way to make jobs at our museums attractive. Certain steps can be taken to improve the working environment. First, the government should grant greater autonomy to museums. The National Museum, for example, is a department of the government. This means that all the financial and decision-making authority vests with the government. The director has limited powers and has to seek approval for all plans exhibitions, design improvements, education initiatives, recruitments, etc. These approvals can take months as they have to go through a labyrinthine government pathway. And years, if they get questioned by junior officials who do not understand the special requirements of museums and exhibitions. More frustrating, the director has to get government approval to travel overseas to present a paper. This is particularly galling for those whose expertise (and reputation) depends on international exchange and who have to deal with officials who do not appreciate the significance of this participation.
Second, the government should grant the director greater authority over staff. The staff at most museums have been around for decades and they often resist the authority of new directors knowing well that they have security of tenure. One hears stories of keepers refusing to open their archives to a director or trying to sabotage new initiatives.
Museum directors in India spend a great deal of their time in and out of courts refuting charges or trying to get rid of troublesome individuals. There is also the problem of unions, mostly affiliated to political parties and when those affiliations are with the opposition political parties, the unions use every opportunity to find fault with the museum’s performance.
Third, the director must be given a free hand in recruitment. Today many posts are lying vacant but it is wrong to infer that young people are not interested in taking up museum jobs. In fact internationally, museums offer a much sought after career. Our youth will be interested if the opportunities at our museums are rewarding, invigorating and the remuneration is competitive with other cultural institutions and art galleries. At the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, for instance, we receive applications every week and many of the candidates have degrees earned at some of the best institutions abroad.
The suggestions above are validated by my own experience with the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum (the Mumbai city museum and the second oldest museum in the country). It has made the leap from decay to dynamism because of several factors. First, a special purpose vehicle based on a public-private partnership was created through the establishment of a management trust which includes INTACH, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) which owns the museum, and the Bajaj Foundation, which gave the money for the institutional and architectural overhaul. The restoration won UNESCO’s highest award of excellence. Second, the board approved a set of terms that granted INTACH full autonomy for restoration and revitalisation of the museum. Third, the MCGM created a corpus to give financial autonomy to the museum. The board sets the broad parameters but within that, the director has been granted substantial discretionary authority. Finally the staff has been hired on a contract basis with sufficient safeguards built in. Museum directors in India are expected to be jacks of all trades. Major museum functions like curation, exhibitions, education, colle- ction management and conservation, research, marketing and operations are specialised activities, and should be given over to experts.
The culture ministry has started the process of change but they face strong vested interests. They cannot remove incumbent directors. To do so, they have to go to the courts and suffer the delays of our judicial process with the knowledge that, after years of litigation, the courts will most likely rule in favour of the incumbent. However despite all these challenges, the ministry must continue the process. With determination and the willingness to open up and seek the partnership of civil society, it will be able to bring about much positive change.
The writer is the managing trustee and honorary director of the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, vice-chairman of INTACH, and chairman of the CII task force on museums and heritage