Across India’s tribal and folk traditions, art continues to evolve quietly, shaped by shifting environments, materials, and ways of life. Metamorphosis II, an exhibition curated by postgraduate students of Post Graduate Diploma in Museology and Conservation at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), brings this ongoing transformation into focus. It situates these practices within lived contexts, where artisans create not for recognition but as part of ritual, utility, and community life, with knowledge passed down through observation and repetition.

As we proceed towards the Premchand Roychand Gallery, curator Nilanjana Som explains the significance of the exhibition as it enters its second year. The students are first taught how to curate an exhibition alongside choosing the theme. The opening section welcomes visitors with the Cham masks by Chhemet Rigzin and Stanzin Chokdup, made entirely of clay, with nine masks emoting different expressions from peaceful to wrathful.