Alice Agarwal

This fellowship will support the work of Alice Agarwal, an architect with a Master’s degree from Newcastle University, UK in Heritage, Museum and Art Gallery Management. She has worked in organisations connected with heritage in the UK and currently works with Heritage India Communications in Pune. This organisation not only publishes a magazine of repute, but also conducts events and heritage walks and tours in Pune.

Alice is already familiar with the Archaeology Museum and its galleries. Through this fellowship she intends to make the museum a more social space. While she points out that the Deccan Museum is an important museum with a significant collection, she also adds that it’s not without its weaknesses. For instance, the interpretation available she says, is too academic and literal, the narrative that binds the galleries too pedantic, and the activities that draw people together are few and far between. Alice hopes to use her experience in the fields of architecture and heritage management to make the interpretations of the objects and texts more informative and viewer friendly. She would ideally like to use QR codes and audio guides in a few instances. She will attempt to build a community of museum-goers by organising a series of events in the galleries for people of all age-groups. She also wants to develop a strong online presence. Alice’s job with Heritage India Communications will complement her research for this fellowship. Her activities in the museum could be an extension of all that she has been doing thus far and she could also build on the database that she already has, to make the museum a more inclusive space.

The outcomes of the fellowship will include a series of events and activities in the museum for a diverse range of people, both in terms of interests and age; talks and workshops; heritage walks and an exhibition. The fellow’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be process images, audio/video recordings, texts and publication, if any.

This fellowship is made possible with support from Tata Trusts.