Art shouldn't be inaccessible simply because art is very much a part of our lives. It's what Kamini Sawhney, director of the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP), reminds us of, over a phone call from Bengaluru, by stating examples of the intricate rangoli done on doorsteps across the country to the many ways we drape a saree. Art is Life, a week-long festival held to launch MAP digitally, stems from that idea.

MAP was due to launch this year in a five-storey building on Kasturba Road, Bengaluru, but the pandemic put a stop to it. “We were so focused on the physical museum. But when we had brainstorming sessions with our advisory council, patrons and board, the feedback we got was, 'Why are you still focusing on a physical museum? Why not take the museum to people?' So, we decided on a digital museum,” Sawhney shares.