The City As A Museum

Launched by DAG in November 2021, The City As A Museum is a festival that celebrates arts and heritage. It seeks to “transform the way people engage with museum collections” by taking them beyond four walls. The festival aims to change the way the city is experienced by activating neighbourhoods and localities linked to the lives of artists and art communities who feature in the DAG Collection. The experiences include curated walks, talks, concerts and workshops.

The first edition, which was spread over ten days in Kolkata, provided a blueprint for future instalments in other cities. It saw DAG collaborating with the Indian Museum, Victoria Memorial Hall, Botanical Gardens, and craft communities in heritage neighbourhoods such as Chitpur (home to printmakers and jewellers) and Metiabruz (the erstwhile refuge of Wajid Ali Shah). Glimpses of the event were made available virtually on Instagram and through a collaboration with digital media platform Heritage Lab.

The last edition of the festival included an art workshop and a tour of the Hooghly Imambara, an intimate evening at the Lake Town home of artist Shanu Lahiri and a guided walk of Uttarpara Jaykrishna Public Library – the first free circulating public library of India. The last day of the festival featured an online cook-along with food historian Pritha Sen.

Check out more heritage festivals here.