Hopes to create a historical database starting from the 1830s
On display a 19th century daguerreotypy photo. (Photo: DC)
Thiruvananthapuram: They may be photographers, designers, artists, scientists and historians, but they have a common goal– establish a museum of photographs, the first time of its kind in the country, in Thrissur. Friends all, the group of diverse professionals has come up with the idea of the museum, Photomuse to document and preserve photographs of historical significance.
“Our aim is to preserve India’s history, culture, and heritage through photography. The museum will help people, especially youth learn about our history through photography,” says Dr. Unnikrishnan Pulikkal S, director and curator of Photomuse, which opens on December 7.
The soon to open Thrissur museum has an advisory panel made up of curators of foreign museums like the Industry and Film Museum, Germany and The Cleveland Museum, USA and several photographers of international stature. The team hopes to create a historical database starting from the 1830s when photography first began to be recognised as an art form.
The Better Art Foundation (BAF), a non-profit public charitable trust and the parent organisation of Photomuse, hopes it will eventually be a venue for exhibitions and also an educational and research facility for Indian photography.
Interestingly, people can send in photographs of historical or cultural significance and the museum’s curation wing will sort them out and preserve those that can adapt to its temperature, humidity and dust controlled environment.
More details of this interactive aspect of the museum will be provided on its website that will be activated in a week.
Explains Dr. Unnikrishnan,“We can preserve an unlimited number of photographs here because we’ll keep expanding the museum as more and more photographs come in. We have already acquired a lot of photographs from the USA and Europe and are in the process of making an A to Z catalogue of them. We plan to collect more photographs of Indian origin and hope that the people here will contribute to our collection.”
( Source : dc )
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