Mumbai’s Jehangir Nicholson Gallery celebrates 10 years of being open at CSMVS

For Mumbairsquos art and culture connoisseurs Jehangir Nicholson does not need an introduction Starting in the 1960s the private collector gradually built an important reservoir of 800 modern and contemporary Indian artworks over almost 50 yearsA chartered accountant and cotton merchant by day his interest in the visual arts was prompted at the gallery at the Taj after his usual Tuesday Rotary meetings at the Ballroom He bought his first paintingmdasha Sharad Waykool landscapemdashin 1968 after his wife passed away This was his first step as a collector following which he began visiting the only Bombay art galleries at the time in the city Pundole and Chemould and picked up many works especially by the Bombay ProgressivesAccording to his will Nicholson wished to find a home for the collection and make it accessible to the public As such Cyrus Guzder and Kaiwan Kalyaniwala the executors of his estate set up Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation JNAF a notforprofit organisation In 2021 the JNAF completes a decade of being open as a gallery at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya CSMVSMidDaycom asked JNAF director Puja Vaish about the galleryrsquos plans for the landmark year Excerpts from the interviewPuja VaishWhat was Jehangir Nicholsonrsquos vision for Indian artAs one of Indiarsquos first private collectors of postindependence Indian Art Jehangir Nicholsonrsquos vision to make his entire collection accessible to the public and build a dynamic museum of art in the city cannot be ignored He also bequeathed the proceeds of his Estate to go into realising this visionHe was a regular amongst the art fraternity meeting with artists and learning about art became a process He became well acquainted with artists of the time mdash MF Husain Akbar Padamsee VS Gaitonde SH Raza KH Ara Krishen Khanna among others His passion for art collection continued till the month before he passed away in 2001 mdash the last painting he bought was by Anju Dodiya The collection consists of artworks that reflect the significant trajectories of postindependence Indian art between 1940s ndash 2000s as well as the cultural milieu of the cityNicholson realised the richness of his collection and was driven by a passion to share it with the public In his lifetime he collaborated with the NCPA to start an art space there called the lsquoJehangir Nicholson Museum of Artrsquo where part of his collection was displayed Later in the 90s he exhibited his collection at the NGMA where all the gallery spaces were not enough to accommodate his vast collectionNicholson spent his final years negotiating with the authorities for a space in the city dedicated to contemporary art He mentions in a letter exchange with the Governor of Maharashtra his desire and offer to build a comprehensive contemporary art museum in the city Nicholson in his proposal detailed out each aspect of the proposed museum including the procurement of funds and area per sq ft for a permanent displays area temporary exhibitions gallery space outdoor sculpture area library learning centre auditorium cafeacute adequate storage curatorrsquos offices and clean bathroomsWhile many significant artworks are sequestered within private collections Nicholsonrsquos pioneering vision to make his collection assessible in a complete and comprehensive form is commendable and is a significant contribution to the study knowledge and visibility of Indian artJehangir Nicholson at the National Gallery of Modern Art Mumbai with his collection on display in 1998 Pic Courtesy Jehangir Nicholson Art FoundationHow did the collaboration between JNAF and CSMVS come aboutIn his will Nicholson expressed the desire that a home be found for this collection of 800 artworks where it would be accessible to the public The proceeds of his Estate were to go towards supporting the collection and the promotion of related art activities The executors of his Estate Cyrus Guzder and Kaiwan Kalyaniwala accordingly set up Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation a non commercial notforprofit organisation dedicated to providing a platform for art viewing research publications learning and discourseThe JNAF entered into a collaboration with the CSMVS Museum in 2008 and the JNAF gallery opened to public on April 11 2011 The new gallery bearing Nicholsonrsquos name was created at the Museum along with storage office and library space The JNAF forms the Modern and Contemporary Wing of the Museum where it hosts regular exhibitions and outreach programmesHow has JNAF been equipping itself to navigate the ongoing pandemic How did you manage last yearDue to the pandemic we have had to keep the gallery closed to the public for over a year now and it has affected the schedule we had planned for exhibitions and programmes The lack of inperson human interaction has made the need to connect virtually stronger We attempted to make the best of the situation and plan a separate programme for the online world Besides using the time for further research on the collections last year at the beginning of the lockdown we focused our efforts on reaching out to our visitors through online platforms We created new content tailored to online platforms We started the lsquoJNAF Journalrsquo as an emailer which highlighted significant happenings of artists in the collection artwork features online collaborations and articles We organised talks and online workshops There are certain benefits of online programming conversations that you couldnrsquot imagine before can now happen virtually simply because the logistics involved in bringing people together from separate geographical locations in a physical space together is not a hurdle for the virtual space We were overwhelmed by the response to our talk series lsquoMind the Dashrsquo which featured scholars and curators in conversation from Mumbai London the Peabody Essex Museum in the US and Lahore and audiences tuned in from different parts of the world in much larger numbers than expected We have observed the same for our online workshops for children and adults that the reach is wider as participation is not contingent on being in the same cityOur social media features and campaigns have been popular Through the campaigns we feature a regular call for entries where audiences can send in their creations based on a conceptaspect of art and stand a chance to win gifts from JNAF merchandiseFor this year we have two parallel schedules planned exhibitions and events in the gallery space as well as virtually through online platforms We are hosting regular online programmes but the inperson exhibitions programmes at the gallery are dependent on when we can safely open to publicLooking back how has art viewing changed in the last decadeIn the last decade a lot has changed in terms of avenues for art Large scale public events such as biennales and art fairs have brought more people to interface with art and lsquoart tourismrsquo has increased More art institutions and private museums have come up with active exhibition and outreach programmes This has led to a greater public interest and engagement with art At JNAF too audiences have gradually built up over the years and there have been so many artists curators historians gallerists musicians filmmakers journalists and cultural practitioners seminal to our journey bringing in new audiences each timeWhat plans do you have to celebrate this decadelong collaborationA lineup of online programmes is planned in conjunction with JNAFrsquos 10th anniversary including talks virtual walkthroughs interactive sessions online quizzes and workshops for children and adultsWhat are JNAFrsquos future plans for promoting artThe JNAF seeks to to build a connected researchbased curatorial framework for its exhibitions publications education and outreach programming bringing the collection into conversation with relevant current local and global arthistorical discourses onsite and online The JNAF aims to support contemporary art and cultural practices through its exhibitions and programmes