Kolkata: The metropolis will soon have a new a museum of modern art projected as the first of its kind in Asia.

The Rs 550-crore state-of-the-art centre will be a joint venture between the West Bengal government, Centre and a private enterprise Kolkata Museum of Modern Art (KMOMA).

The museum, to be set up on 10 acre in New Town of Rajarhat, on the outskirts of the metropolis, will have a National Gallery, Western Galleries, Far-Eastern Galleries and an Academic Wing, where a national collection of fine art ranging from the 19th century to the contemporary period will be exhibited.

KMOMA signed an agreement with the Swiss architect Herzog de Meuron, based in Basel in Switzerland for the museum project.

The agreement was signed by KMOMA Managing Trustee Rakhi Sarkar and Herzog s senior partner Harry Gugger at a function here yesterday.

The KMOMA project is likely to be the second major international architecture in India after the landmark venture of French architect Le Corbusier, commissioned by former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to create Chandigarh in the 1950s.

The museum, Sarkar said, will also have research and educational facilities with database and a library.

Restoration of art work and their authentication will be carried out by the museum with the help of latest technology.

Stating that KMOMA will work in close coordination with the major museums of the world, she said the National Gallery section would essentially focus on Indian visual art ranging from the 19th century reflecting colonial and post-colonial phases, to the present day.

The Western Galleries will represent art from the West and the Middle East.

The Far-Eastern section will showcase art from 19th century to the current period, including art works from SAARC countries as well as from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

In the Academic wing, courses will be conducted in Museology, Art History, Art Management and Restoration in collaboration with institutes of international repute.

Source : PTI