Nita Ambani-led Reliance Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Reliance Industries has been making donations to a number of major museums in the United States (US) to popularize Indian art globally.
Reliance Foundation’s Work in the Art World
In 2015, Reliance Foundation financed a show displaying traditional Hindu paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago. The Foundation is also a leading sponsor of Met Breuer’s debut show of modernist drawings. The show displays the works of NasreenMohamedi. It is the first ever show in the US to showcase the artist’s work.
It is estimated that the shows may have cost between USD 5 lakh to USD 50 lakh.
Nita Ambani’s Museum Plans
Recently, Nita Ambani gave an interview at Metropolitan Museum of Art. She revealed her plans to build a museum in India.In 2010, organizers of an exhibition of Anish Kapoor’s works rented a film studio in India to have sufficient space to display all his pieces. Space at the National Gallery of Modern Art fell short. The Director of Met, Tom Campbell said that he has never done a Met show in India, but Mrs. Ambani’s plans interest him.
The museum will be part of a huge convention centerbeing built by Reliance Industries in Mumbai. Ambani has planned to get renowned traveling shows from museums around the world. The museum will be opened in 2018. She wants the people ofIndian to make the experience of going to see art a part of their lives.
Views of MadhuvantiGhose
MadhuvantiGhose, the Curator of Indian art at the Art Institute of Chicago expressed her surprise over the speed at which the Ambani couple works. She said that nobody can surpass them. For Mrs. Ambani, she said, “
Art is a new door for her, but now that she’s walked through, she sees how desperately we need her.”
The art world is looking for novelty and money. Mrs. Ambani’s plans are different from other elites. The largest private conglomerate of India, Reliance Industries has its hands in textiles, oil refineries, retail, grocery, telecommunications, and hotels, among others. Last year, the company generated sales of around USD 57 billion.
Mrs. Ambanibelongs to the richest family in the country. According to Ghose, she is a tastemaker. Her footsteps and works are largely followed by others. Until now, Mrs. Ambani was known for her initiatives in the fields of health, education, and sports. Her inclination towards arts is something new that is being known, she added.
Ambani’s Love for Art
Mrs. Ambani resides in a 4 lakh-square-foot skyscraper in Mumbai. It has a car park, temple, and a dance studio. She has a number of modern and contemporary Indian artworks in her house, including works from M.F. Hussain and Anish Kapoor. Recently, she gave a task to a popular artist,
Subodh Gupta
to make a 9-feet-long installation,showing a map of Mumbai. The installation needs to be made of brass and metal cooking vessels.
Since the age of 5, Nita was taking lessons of Bharatnatyam. She still practices everyday for an hour. Every year, she visitsNathdwara in Rajasthan with her family. They pray with a religious community, Pushtimarg. She would always spend hours in the temple admiring the beauty of the paintings put up by devotees.
Two years ago, she got the opportunity to support a show at the Chicago Museum displaying the works of Pustimarg artists.
Summary
Nita Ambani, Founder and Director of
Reliance Foundation, is planning to set up a museum in Mumbai.