Talks
Marko Daniel in Conversation with Kamini Sawhney
Kamini Sawhney, Marko Daniel
In this edition of The Directors’ Cut, we are joined by Marko Daniel, Director of the Joan Miró Foundation since 2018, former Head of Public Programmes at Tate Modern and Tate Britain in London, and expert in contemporary Chinese and Catalan art. The Joan Miró Foundation is a space that was created by Joan Miró himself with the idea of making art accessible to all.
Located in Montjuïc Park, Barcelona, Joan Miró Foundation is a vibrant cultural hub celebrating the work of Joan Miró and other 20th and 21st century artists. The museum boasts the world’s most significant public collection of Miró’s works, supplemented by donations and private collections. It was the first museum in Spain to launch an educational programme, and has awarded the prestigious Premi Joan Miró to emerging artists since 2007. The Foundation serves not only as a cultural landmark but also as a platform for creativity, education, and social change, embodying Miró’s vision of art’s transformative power.
The Directors’ Cut series, hosted by MAP’s Director, Kamini Sawhney, offers a glimpse into how the institution of the museum is being reimagined and reinvented today, and presents a unique opportunity to hear from reputed practitioners in museums around the world.
Marko Daniel
Director of Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona
Marko Daniel (Aachen, Germany, 1964) has a degree in Art History and Philosophy from University College London (1988), a PhD in the History and Theory of Art from the University of Essex (1999), and is a specialist in contemporary Chinese and Catalan art. Art and Propaganda: The Battle for Cultural Property in the Spanish Civil War was the title of his doctoral thesis, whose fieldwork was conducted in Barcelona thanks to a grant from the British Academy.
Daniel developed his teaching career at Southampton, Taiwan, London and Barcelona. In 2006, Daniel joined Tate Modern, London, as a curator of public programmes. Since 2011, he has held the position of Head of Public Programmes at Tate Modern and Tate Britain, London. Since January, 2018, Marko Daniel has been the Director of Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona.
Kamini Sawhney
Director, MAP, Bengaluru
As the Museum of Art & Photography’s (MAP) first Director, Kamini Sawhney has brought together a young, inspired team that is focused on creating a new museum experience for audiences in India. In leading this founding team, Sawhney has helped shape a vision for MAP that seeks to inspire people to interact with art in ways that encourage humanity, empathy and a deeper understanding of the world we live in. She has been a vocal ambassador for MAP presenting the institution’s plans and aspirations at various fora including the India Art Fair, at workshops at the CSMVS, Mumbai (Museums and the City), the Bangalore Literary Festival and the Bangalore International Centre.
In her earlier role, Kamini was the head of the Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation – one of the premier private collections of Modern Indian Art, at the CSMVS, Mumbai, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum. Bringing institutions together in collaborative projects has been one of her special skills enabling audiences in India the opportunity to enjoy several exhibitions in collaboration with Tate, London, Foam, Amsterdam, the Duke University, Durham, the KNMA, New Delhi and more. Sawhney was selected as one of the first candidates for the Brooks fellowship at Tate Modern, London in 2014 in collaboration with the Delfina Foundation. In a previous avatar as journalist and television anchor, Kamini was the Bureau Chief of NDTV, Mumbai one of India’s leading news channels where she reported on her whole range of events both political and cultural.
