West Bengal has always occupied a pride of place in the domain of Indian art, which is universally recognised. Moreover, the level of knowledge about art and depth of appreciation of art among the general population is high. What West Bengal, and its capital city, Kolkata, lacks is the existence of an art museum of international standard, equipped with the entire necessary infrastructure to exhibit works of art requiring stringent conditions for display. This lack has repeatedly been expressed not only by the artists of West Bengal, but also by the art loving general populace of the city of Kolkata and the State of West Bengal. KMOMA will fulfil this most important space in the city’s art environment.

The first and most significant contribution of KMOMA to the people of West Bengal is to bring high quality artworks, nationally and internationally, for exhibition. This will fulfil a long-standing, and as yet unfulfilled, aspiration of the artists, the art connoisseurs, and the art loving public of the State.

Next, KMOMA will play a significant role in generating further interest in art and appreciation. KMOMA believes that a keen sense of art appreciation will go a long way in generating greater interest in art. KMOMA will conduct courses in art appreciation for general public. It is our expectation that these courses will be very popular and widely attended. These courses will be conducted not only in Kolkata city, but also in the rest of West Bengal.

A third objective is art education, which will also have a very good impact on the general population. This will be done in two ways. First, KMOMA will conduct short term diploma courses in museology, art history, art management, art restoration and art curation. KMOMA intends, in due course, to offer post graduate courses in art in collaboration with universities.

It is well known that West Bengal has a wealth of traditional indigenous arts and crafts. KMOMA will have a separate wing to focus on traditional art and crafts of West Bengal, with a view to encourage the artisans and craftsmen to improve the quality of their works, and to offer them a platform to exhibit their works in order to help them obtain better visibility and better market access.

At a more intangible level, KMOMA will help to promote a sense of identity and pride among young artists of West Bengal, and to provide a platform for intellectual dialogue and discourse and multi-disciplinary interactions.