For years, Indian contemporary art has relied on galleries as spaces shaping discourse. Bhavna Kakar, the Founding Director of LATITUDE 28, a gallery in Delhi, has a decade of experience as a curator, editor, writer, and art entrepreneur, along with several recognitions, including the Arts Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries.
With degrees in Painting and Art history from MS University in Baroda, Kakar, apart from her gallery, also documents and publishes on TAKE on Art, a leading journal since 2009, contributing further to the critical understanding of contemporary Indian art.
In an exclusive conversation with Robb Report India, Bhavna shares her list of the best museums in India that have shaped contemporary cultural discourse, drawing from her personal experiences.
Known as one of the most important institutions for understanding India’s living craft traditions, the National Crafts Museum and Hastkala Academy in Delhi has an immersive, village-like layout, and the emphasis on process situates craft within everyday life rather than isolating it as an artefact. "The museum remains a vital reference point for anyone working at the intersection of art, craft, and design," says Bhavna.
Housed within repurposed commercial buildings in Delhi and Noida, KNMA was established in 2010 by collector and philanthropist Kiran Nadar as India's first private museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art. "KNMA has played a transformative role in shaping modern and contemporary art discourse in India." says Bhavna. The museum grew out of Nadar's personal art collection, which she began collecting in 1990, and she chose to make it publicly accessible through a non-profit institution by the Shiv Nadar Foundation. Bhavna further adds, "Its research-driven exhibitions, strong collection, and sustained outreach and education programmes have expanded audiences while maintaining intellectual rigour.”
Founded in 1894 in Baroda as the Baroda Museum, the Maharaja Sayajirao University Museum & Picture Gallery was built during the reign of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad II. Intending to create an educational institution modelled on major European museums, it later became part of Maharaja Sayajirao University after 1949. According to Bhavna, “closely tied to the pedagogical legacy of MSU Baroda, this museum offers rare insight into the academic foundations of modern Indian art. Its collections and archives continue to influence generations of artists, historians, and curators.”
The Calico Museum of Textiles was built in 1949 by industrialist Gautam Sarabhai, along with his sister Gira Sarabhai, under the Sarabhai Foundation. Bhavna says, “Globally unparalleled, the Calico Museum is essential for understanding India’s textile history. Its scholarly approach, extraordinary collection, and intimate viewing experience set a benchmark for how material culture can be preserved and interpreted.” Originally housed within the Calico Mills complex, the museum later moved in 1983 to the Sarabhai family’s Shahibaug estate, where it continues to display one of the world’s most significant collections of Indian textiles.
The Indian Museum was founded in 1814 in Kolkata by the Asiatic Society of Bengal and is the oldest and largest museum in India. "The museum houses vast collections spanning art, archaeology, anthropology, and natural history. Its scale and historical depth offer an irreplaceable lens into the evolution of institutional collecting in India.” says Bhavna.
Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal is a multidisciplinary cultural complex housing visual art, theatre, music, poetry, and folk traditions, all under one roof. According to Bhavna, "It's sustained engagement with indigenous and vernacular practices makes it one of India’s most important public cultural institutions.”
Inaugurated in 2013 by the Government of Madhya Pradesh, this museum in Bhopal features the cultural traditions of the state, including art, and lifestyles of the state's indigenous tribal communities. “An outstanding example of how ethnographic material can be presented with dignity and contemporary relevance. Its immersive displays and strong architectural language allow visitors to engage meaningfully with India’s diverse tribal cultures.”
Created by a government official named Nek Chand, the Rock Garden in Chandigarh was built in hiding in 1957 using discarded industrial and urban waste materials. Later discovered by the authorities, the garden opened to the public in 1976, eventually expanding into a 40-acre sculpture garden managed by the Rock Garden Society. “The world’s largest open-air sculpture park of outsider art, created entirely from industrial and urban waste. Nek Chand’s visionary project challenges conventional ideas of authorship, material, and what constitutes a museum.”
Opened in 1959 by Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II, the City Palace Museum was created to preserve the royal archives of Jaipur within the historic palace complex. Bhavna shares, “A compelling example of a living palace museum, the City Palace Museum is where royal collections, architecture, textiles, and contemporary interventions coexist, offering a nuanced understanding of heritage and patronage.”
Founded in 1905 as the Prince of Wales Museum, CSMVS was created to house art, archaeology, and natural history collections. “One of India’s finest encyclopedic museums, known for its thoughtful curatorial practice, conservation work, and wide-ranging collections spanning ancient art, decorative arts, and global exchanges.”
Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai is the museum in the city. Opened in 1872, the museum is home to the city's industrial arts, crafts, and cultural history. According to Bhavna, “Its focus on the city’s social, industrial, and decorative arts history makes it an important site for understanding Bombay’s layered cultural past and evolving urban identity.”
While technically an educational institution, Kala Bhavan functions as a living, breathing museum. Bhavna says that the museum's studios, archives, murals, sculptures, and everyday artistic practices embody Rabindranath Tagore’s vision of learning through art, nature, and community. The result is a space where history, pedagogy, and contemporary practice coexist organically.
Home to the celebrated Didarganj Yakshi, the Bihar Museum exemplifies how ancient civilisational heritage can be presented through a distinctly contemporary lens. According to Bhavna, "Its new-age display strategies, refined architectural language, and museum design sensibility create an immersive yet accessible experience." She further adds, "What truly sets it apart is its constant, thoughtful programming — ensuring the institution remains alive, relevant and in dialogue with the present rather than confined to the past."