THE BRITISH MUSEUM, which raised more than £2.5 million from its inaugural Pink Ball last Saturday (18), has said it wants to strengthen its collaboration with India.
Isha Ambani, George Osborne, Nita Ambani, Nicholas Cullinan. (Photo credit: Dave Benett)
The museum’s director, Dr Nicholas Cullinan, went out of his way to extend a special thanks to Isha Ambani, chair of the India-themed ball.
Neeta Ambani at the event. (Photo credit: Dave Benett)
The funds raised will be used to support the museum’s international partnerships, particularly with India.
There will be a focus on “pioneering curatorial collaborations with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) in Mumbai. The British Museum is also proud of its collaborative, cross-cultural and co-curated projects with CSMVS, which have resulted in critically acclaimed exhibitions in both London and Mumbai.”
Jules Buckley, Anoushka Shankar. (Photo credit: Dave Benett)
The CSMVS was known previously as the Prince of Wales Museum.
Isha Ambani, 33, is the daughter of Mukesh Ambani, head of Reliance Industries in India and said to be “the driving force behind the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre” in Mumbai. Isha attended the ball with her mother, Nita Ambani.
Jaya Raheja, Aarti Lohia. (Photo credit: Dave Benett)
The success of the ball must be partly because of the backing from the Ambani family.
There are hopes of further collaboration between the British Museum and the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre.
Katy Wickremesinghe. (Photo credit: Dave Benett)
“That would be fantastic,” said Dr Sushma Jansari, who curated Ancient India: Living Traditions, the exhibition which inspired the ball.
The art scene in India is said to be vibrant, reflecting the country’s economic growth. What government-owned museums in India probably need is curatorial expertise from Britain, as well as better cataloguing and help with restoration.
Natasha Poonawalla. (Photo credit: Dave Benett)
“The British Museum’s international training programme also continues to equip the next generation of curators to protect and share heritage worldwide,” the museum pointed out.
The money raised from the ball was described as “a landmark moment in the museum’s history that secures vital funding for its international partnerships”.
Orhan Awatramani. (Photo credit: Dave Benett)
Many families from Eastern Eye’s Asian Rich List attended the ball.
The money raised “incorporates the generous support of table hosts and guests, donations made on the night and proceeds from the ball’s silent auction”, the museum said.
Ray Panthaki. (Photo credit: Dave Benett)
It added: “Chaired by arts patron and businesswoman Isha Ambani, alongside director Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE, the ball welcomed nearly 900 guests, 70 per cent of whom were new to the museum, including leading cultural figures. Arriving at the museum, guests walked the pink carpet up to the iconic south façade and colonnade. Guests were invited to take their seats for dinner at tables set amid some of the most spectacular objects in the museum collection. Served throughout a number of the ground floor galleries, a menu inspired by the rich flavours of India was served in artisanal, hand-painted tiffin tins.
Alejandra Cicognani, Manav Angelo Kashyap. (Photo credit: Dave Benett)
“The inaugural British Museum Ball has now set a new benchmark for philanthropic and cultural celebration, bringing together leading figures from art, design, fashion, entertainment and public life in support of a shared global mission and to celebrate London’s status as one of the world’s leading cultural capitals.”
There are hopes also of greater collaboration between the museum and the 2.5 million-strong British Indian community, who were consulted about the Ancient India exhibition, along with Jains and Buddhists in the UK.
One of the museum’s ball partners was Kama Ayurveda, a beauty products firm which was represented in a tent in the grounds of Chequers along with other British businesses, when India’s prime minister Narendra Modi travelled to London in July for the signing of the Free Trade Agreement with UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Sweta Mehta. (Photo credit: Dave Benett)
The ball could also signal greater patronage from wealthy British Indian families for art institutions in the UK, mirroring well-established practices in the US. In the past, Asian businesses, particularly those who came from east Africa, have not always seen a direct link between their own profit lines and giving money to the arts. But this might be changing. The involvement of the Ambanis, India’s richest family, could be a game changer.
In the UK, Akshata Murty, who attended the ball with her husband, Rishi Sunak, has become a trustee of the V&A. Normally, these roles are reserved for the great and the good of British high society. But as the wife of a former prime minister, she probably outranks them, not least because her father, NR Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of Infosys, had made her a very rich woman in her own right.
During the silent auction, one of the prizes was “an opportunity to be among the first to see the monumental Bayeux Tapestry when it arrives on loan next year, and a private dinner and tour of the British Museum, personally led by the director”.
Cullinan said: “The British Museum is at the heart of cultural life in the UK, and the inaugural ball demonstrated this with both an unprecedented level of interest, an extraordinary fundraising sum, and a renewed sense of the mission we are on to transform this remarkable institution. I want to once again thank Isha Ambani.”
