Dr Tasneem Zakaria Mehta Managing Trustee & Honorary Director, Dr Bhau Daji Lad City Museum

Q. What was the reason to introduce such a course? Who, according to you, will benefit from it?
Mumbai boasts of a vibrant contemporary art and cultural scene, but there is little scope for those seriously interested in the subject to gain the kind of knowledge required to break into this field. In view of this lacuna, the Museum began a one-year PG Diploma in Modern and Contemporary Indian Art in 2012. Over the past four years, the participants have included engineers, copy-writers, film-makers, photographers, collectors, and come from a variety of backgrounds, like IT, accounting, architecture; we've even had some practicing artists! I can proudly say that each has continued their engagement with art in some measure; some have even gone on to join prestigious Masters programmes in art and architecture in India and abroad.


Students participate in a special walkthrough of Atul Dodiya's, 7000 Museums: A Project for the Republic of India with Himanshu Kadam, Senior Assistant Curator (second left) at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad City Museum, Byculla.