INTACH, AusHeritage to enhance cooperation

The MoU was signed by AusHeritage’s Chairman Vinod Daniel and INTACH Convener G M Kapur, in the presence of Australian Deputy High Commissioner Bernard Philip and Director of Indian Museum B. Venugopal, at a joint Australia-India forum to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Indian Museum.

An Australian delegation comprising heritage and conservation specialists are in Kolkata from Apr 9 to Apr 11, to participate in the forum at the Indian Museum as well as hold consultative meetings with INTACH and the J C Bose Trust.

The delegation’s visit is supported by the Australia-India Council (AIC), a bilateral foundation established by the Australian Government in 1992 to encourage people-to-people links and increase knowledge and understanding between Australia and India.

Philip said: “I am delighted at this collaboration between Australia and India and to be part of this cultural heritage knowledge sharing forum at the oldest museum in India.”

Kapur said he was delighted on behalf of the National Chairman to renew this memorandum of understanding with AusHeritage.

"This collaboration, will focus on the building conservation aspects of Acharya Bhavan where the J.C.Bose Science Heritage Museum will be housed, and is an excellent example of what can be achieved with information sharing between the Australian and Indian heritage bodies," Kapur added.

He noted that while the Goethe Institut of Germany in association with the Berlin Museum authorities was advising INTACH on the overall museum project with specific reference to its museological and curatorial aspects, this collaboration will complement the work INTACH is already doing with the Germans.

“AusHeritage and INTACH have worked together for over a decade now on several collaborative projects, including in the development of a conservation charter for INTACH,” said Daniel.

“AusHeritage has worked with major Indian museums and with the museum movement in India going through a revival phase, such forums offer ideal platforms for information sharing and establishing people-to-people linkages within the museum specialist domain,” he added.

Venugopal expressed interest to continue cooperation with Australian museum experts as the Indian Museum upgrades its facilities and exhibition spaces.

He said that the forum would help build strong conservation, human resource capability for India.

The AusHeritage delegation includes its Chairman and Museum Specialist, Vinod Daniel; Deputy Chairman and Built Heritage Specialist Roger Beeston; Collection Specialist Charlotte Galloway and Conservation Specialist Andrew Durham.

With AIC’s support, AusHeritage has worked on many projects in India, including providing assistance for designing an international exhibition gallery for the Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai; developing a charter for conservation of buildings for the Indian National Trust for Art and Culture; providing capacity building for museums in Assam, Kerala, Mumbai, West Bengal and Delhi; developing a function brief for a Tagore museum in Shantiniketan, and working with the City Palace in Jaipur on the Jaigarh Fort.

AusHeritage is Australia’s international network for cultural heritage. The organisation’s members include Australian universities, national collecting institutions, State galleries, libraries and museums, private architectural firms and private and government conservation services.