Bengaluru’s latest landmark is a shiny stainless-steel museum whose acronym is quite apt for what it aims to do — that is, put India’s Silicon Valley on the country’s art map. The Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), which opened to the public last week, gives art lovers access to an expansive and eclectic collection of 60,000 works from South Asia.
While many of them are from Bengaluru based businessman Abhishek Poddar’s personal collection that that includes everything from Bhil art to Bollywood posters, there have also been generous donations such as a huge archive of artist Jyoti Bhatt that includes rare photos he took of folk artists and some of his peers. There’s a delightful shot of Bhupen Khakhar taking a nap in the park and another arresting image of a young M F Husain.