Constructing the Nation Through Cultural Contest: The Royal Academy Exhibition of “Indian Art”, 1947-1948
Author: Mrinalini Venkateswaran (Department of History, Royal Holloway, University of London, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow)
Vol.&No.:Vol. 67, No. 2
Date:September 2022
Pages:1-32
DOI:https://doi.org/10.6210/JNTNU.202209_67(2).0001
Abstract:
An “Exhibition of Art Chiefly, from the Dominions of India and Pakistan” was held at the Royal Academy of Arts in London between November 1947 and February 1948, a mere three months after the partition of British India had produced the nation states of India and Pakistan. This exhibition is well known to South Asian art historians, as several of the objects collected for it went on to form the core of the new national collections in the region. But it is less recognised as a crucible for constructing national identity – not because of what was on display, but through the contest for objects of cultural value and antiquity that took place behind the scenes. The Royal Academy’s programme of exhibitions of art from outside Britain has been recognised as a diplomatic tool in scholarly historical writing. However, in addition to any British diplomatic objectives, the article demonstrates the role this exhibition played in constructing nationhood, and articulating citizenship in newly independent South Asia.
Keywords:citizenship, exhibition, museums, nation-building, partition
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