Arts And Culture

Museums have through the years been seen as institutions involved in the research, conservation and dissemination of information. India has eighteen Tribal Research and Training Institutes which run fourteen Ethnographic Museums with a combined collection of nearly 30,000 artefacts such as paintings, ornaments, costumes, hunting and agricultural implements, pottery, toys and religious objects. Each museum has collected artefacts from its own area of activity. Viewed collectively, these artefacts present a unique picture of the diversity and cultural richness of Tribal India.

In order to connect the audiences with the tribal contexts through the use of digital technology and multimedia, Bhasha has prepared a National Consortium of Tribal Arts and Culture (link: http://www.tribalartsmuseums.org). The Consortium brings together films, photographs, songs and stories reflecting the richness of tribal life and the contexts of use of over 700 tribal artefacts featuring in this dynamic display.

Along with the Consortium, Bhasha has published Tribal Arts in India: The National Inventory of Tribal Museums, a systematic documentation of more than nine hundred objects presently in possession of the various museums housed by the Tribal Research and Training Institutes.

The materials covered by the Consortium and Inventory represent only a part of the holdings in the Tribal Research Institutes’ museums. The Academy proposes to continue the digitization and prepare a supplementary inventory.