Museum of Art and Kerala History

The Kerala Museum is a vibrant beacon of the arts in Kochi. Set up in 1987, it is the brainchild of R Madhavan Nayar who, even then, recognised the need for a cultural institution which could provide experiential learning in history, the fine arts and performing arts in the city. He established a museum that concentrated on three sections: a history museum with dioramas narrating the complex history of Kerala, a visual art collection with key works by artists from the late 19th century to the late 20th century and a collection of dolls from around the country.

Madhavan Nayar’s vision has been carried forward over four decades and the museum has hosted more than half a million visitors; it has also ignited the minds of school children from over 5000 schools from across the country. Amongst its other achievements, the museum’s collections have been digitised for free public access in partnership with Google Arts & Culture; and even during the pandemic, the museum remained active and presented a variety of online programmes.