In the 1970’s, the Government crowned nine renowned artists as the “Navratna”, representing the emerging face of modern Indian art. These artists were icons of the changing socio-political landscape of the country, but are hardly recognised beyond knowing them for general knowledge for civil service examinations. Unfortunately, you won’t come across many young adults today who’d even recognise half of their names.

With this in mind, DAG collaborated with Dr.Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum to display prominent works of Raja Ravi Varma, Amrita Sher-Gil, Rabindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Nicholas Roerich, and Sailoz Mukherjee, in an attempt to get the public to engage with the various elements of these artists and their relationship with the work they produce.

Mr Kishore Singh, President, and Head of Exhibitions & Publications at DAG, believes that these artists are as relevant today as they were in their time. He tells us, “Artists are a reflection of the times they live in and represent, and art survives artificial impositions and trends as a documentation of that period. Great art transcends time, and these are magnificent artists representing the finest in Indian art practice. Their work will be seen and celebrated over centuries.”

The collection houses paintings of diverse mediums and characteristics and Mr.Singh believes that we must explore how the changing environment impacted their work, their search for an Indian expression and a return to the roots as well as the fresh visual vocabulary they helped create.

He says, “Most of all, we want viewers to have a sense of pride in the high quality works these artists have left behind as their legacy. How many of us know that Nandalal Bose and his team of artists painted the first two copies of the Constitution of India? We will be delighted if viewers get a sense of the time, the struggles and the context in which these artists created their art.”

More than simply a gallery viewing, DAG and Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum have taken extra measures to make the exhibition engaging and accessible. There will be workshops and events curated around the art collection. There are free tours held on the weekends in English, Hindi, and Marathi, and school and college student groups can approach the museum for programs.

The exhibition also aims to be accessible to those with special needs, a selection of the paintings have been made tactile with Braille for the visually impaired. A special blindfold tour of these paintings will also be conducted by Siddhant Shah. They also have tours for the hearing impaired, equipped with a sign language interpreter.

You can catch the exhibition till November 11th, 2018 at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum.

All images are courtesy of DAG and Dr.Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum.