Kolkata :
British culture secretary Sajid Javid will be in the city next week to discuss with representatives of three museums of Kolkata and several from the rest of the country on how to transform them from mere tourist spots to nerve centres of their respective cities.
Javid, who is coming to Kolkata on a two-day visit on Monday, is also likely to meet chief minister Mamata Banerjee and talk about possible areas of collaboration between Britain and Bengal in the sphere of museums and other cultural monuments and heritage structures. The British Deputy High Commission in Kolkata has reportedly sought an appointment with the chief minister on Tuesday for Javid’s visit, but they are yet to receive a confirmation from Nabanna.
The fact that Mamata has cancelled her Sandakphu trip, which had been scheduled around the same time, is significant. Javid is the first person of Asian origin to have entered the British cabinet. Hence, his visit is being considered to be of importance to this subcontinent.
For the past one year, representatives of the British Council have been visiting the best museums of the country to find out how they function. They have also written a report on what should be done to transform the museums to hang-out places of academic interest. The report will be placed at the round table discussion. The suggestions for change and assurance of help in bringing this transformation will also be discussed.
Officials of Indian Museum, Victoria Memorial, National Library and the National Council of Science Museums have been selected for this interaction as prime museums of the country based in Kolkata. The chosen others are Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai, Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai, and Crafts Museum, Delhi.
The research is an opportunity to explore UK-India opportunities and partnerships looking at best practices in collections, policies, strategies, human resources, education programming and audience profiling in Indian and UK museums and galleries,” said a British Council press release.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey, TNN / Ocotber 11th, 2014