Civilization.ca - India, The Living Arts - Exhibition Design Concept
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I n d i a . T h e  L i v i n g  A r t s

E XHIBITION  D ESIGN  C ONCEPT           

Presented as the Canadian Museum
of Civilization's major attraction in 2000,
India – The Living Arts occupied the Museum's
entire Special Exhibitions Hall, covering
800 square metres (8,500 sq. ft.).




     


 

Featuring more than 500 artifacts, India – The Living Arts showcases the rich diversity of India's many artistic traditions by placing these artifacts in a series of four environments; the City, the Village, the Home and the Court.


Each environment evokes a different aspect of culture and daily life in India and provides a setting for the display of various types of craft and artistry. Periodically, music, dance, drama and other animation will enhance each of the environments, enveloping visitors in a culture with ancient roots that continue to influence and inform its modern reality.



Sound and lighting effects set the mood in each setting, evoking everything from the natural environment of a rural village to the dizzying pace of a modern city. The exhibition also offers an in-depth look at several of India's specific arts and crafts.

 

Scattered throughout the exhibition, twenty different way stations examine individual artists and their crafts and are occasionally animated by an artist at work. Heralded by colourful banners, the way stations are a reminder that India's arts are living traditions which have endured for more than 2,000 years.