Amid Kolkata’s rich cultural tapestry, art has always been a vessel for true expression. This legacy found fresh resonance in Dialogues Across Time, an exhibition that celebrated 210 years of the Indian Museum in collaboration with the Basu Foundation for the Arts. This first-of-its-kind exhibition displayed modern artworks alongside historical artefacts, intertwining the past with the present while looking towards the future. It opened at the Indian Museum on 11 January 2025 and, after an insightful run, concluded on 31 March.

Curator Sayantan Maita Boka remarked that the exhibition was an exploration, with the situating of contemporary art within the museum’s galleries thereby initiating dialogues between the artworks, viewers, and the space itself. He explained that this experiment challenged perspectives on cultural preservation and the role of art, ultimately shaping our collective understanding of history. The exhibition also featured educational programmes, workshops, and interactive sessions that engaged a wide range of audiences, including scholars, artists, and the general masses. Dr Sayan Bhattacharya, Deputy Director of the Indian Museum, noted that the collaboration between the Basu Foundation for Arts and the Indian Museum fostered a dialogue between ancient and modern art, offering visitors a unique opportunity to appreciate the world of art.

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Stepping into the museum, visitors were greeted by the work of Subodh Gupta, a pink cow sculpture, and another piece crafted by the women of Chanakya School of Crafts, facing each other across the Lion Capital. In the Bharhut Gallery, self-portraits by Bala Subramanium were displayed in relation to the surviving Toranas—one of camphor, ever-vanishing, and another of imperishable sand. Around the corner, Bharati Kher’s painting, depicting bindus that resembled sperm upon closer inspection, drew parallels with the Jataka stories, exploring the cyclical nature of life, morality, and rebirth. In the Gandhara Gallery, two sculptures of Buddha invited viewers to celebrate the harmony of creativity and spiritual enlightenment. Meanwhile, the Coin Gallery showcased Poshto, a sculpture by the Jaipur-based collective Wolf, reimagining one of the most important revenue sources of colonial India while correlating with coins that facilitated trade and commerce. M. Pravat’s work in the Archaeological Gallery explored architectural forms using construction materials, evoking the interplay between the built environment and the natural world.

In the courtyard, sculptures made of stone and metal were placed at the four corners amidst the green grass, contrasting with nature. The corridors housed the installation Chaander Haat, which introduced an architectural aspect eliciting interactions and exploring the overlap of history and sociocultural narratives. There was the Wandering Cloud by Satish Gupta—a bronze sculpture adorned with reliefs of clouds and celestial bodies—which tapped into childhood quests for adventures and secrets shared with the skies. The Evolution Gallery featured The Eye of the Tiger, where an entire village of Sawai Madhopur contributed vibrant paintings of tigers.

Ascending the stairs, visitors encountered Dayanita Singh’s Museum of Tanpura, revealing an intimate world of artistry and conviviality. Beyond lay the Painting Gallery, showcasing works by Prasant Sahu, Bose Krishnamachari, and Soma Das. Sahu explored the dynamic connection between rural and urban worlds, while Bose created a contradiction by displaying blank Braille canvases behind glass, challenging visual accessibility. Soma Das, on the other hand, delved into the daily life of middle-class women engaged in various activities. Paintings by stalwarts Manu Parekh, Thota Vaikuntam, and Jayasri Burman were displayed on circumjacent walls, appearing to regard the mummy in the centre. Folk art by Jagdish Swaminathan and Jangarh Singh Shyam was displayed alongside contemporary works by Arpita Akhanda and Deepak Kumar, blending regional elements with modern aesthetics to pose open-ended questions. Rathin Burman’s architectural sculpture at the Fossil Gallery entrance interacted with the museum’s walled structures, while inside, Chittrovanu Mazumdar’s artwork created an illusion of timelessness, evoking a layered landscape within a landscape. The Mammal Gallery offered another moment of wonder, as the works of Bhasha Chakrabarti and Subodh Kerkar aligned seamlessly with the surrounding fossils, bones, and stuffed animals. In the Insect Gallery, Jagannath Panda’s paintings and sculptures of birds provided a touch of irony set against displays of entomological specimens. Manish Pushkale’s installation in the Zoological Gallery provided an immersive experience, exploring the pictorial vocabulary of lost languages.

The Deco Art and Textile Gallery greeted visitors with intricate tapestries, suspended ceramic sculptures, and Vivek Vilasini’s rendition of The Last Supper, exploring profound truths about connection and healing. Paintings by masters F.N. Souza and M.F. Hussain were displayed amidst exquisite sarees. A veiled sculpture by Debashish Paul evoked the likeness of a wedding garment, while Dayanita Singh’s Pandals Pillar contrasted with an overlooking Buddhist shrine. Olie Studio’s immersive light sculpture mirrored a flowing river, while land art pieces by artists of sā Biennale, along with works by others, were also displayed here.

The exhibition unfolded like a journey through time and ideas, serving as a bridge between the historical and modern narrative. The highlight lay in the placement of contemporary art within the museum’s historical spaces, transforming the experience into an artistic treasure hunt. There was a sense of discovery, balancing playfulness with learning. Children from visiting schools—Birla Balika Vidyapeeth, Pilani, and Presbyterian English School, Mizoram—found the exhibition “delightful” and “interesting,” reflecting the universal appeal of this thoughtfully curated journey.

As Dialogues Across Time concluded, it left behind a lasting impression—a reminder that art is ever-evolving, yet rooted in its history.