India’s under-funded state culture infrastructure has been boosted by a major new museum in Patna, located in the state of Bihar in east India.
Bihar Museum, which focuses on the evolution of history and culture in the Indian subcontinent, opened its children's and orientation galleries at the beginning of August. The next phase, comprising the history galleries, is expected to open next year. The new institution, which has an estimated budget of $80m, is funded principally by the state of Bihar.
The building has been designed by the Tokyo-based architects Maki and Associates and was developed by the UK company Lord Cultural Resources. “Not only is this museum significant in the way in which it honours the rich history of Patna and Bihar, it was also planned and implemented by a women-led, Indian team which has been virtually unprecedented until now,” said Eric Leyland, the creative director of the project for Lord Cultural Resources, in a statement.
In 2012, it was reported that the UK practice Foster + Partners won the competition to design the museum but government officials rejected the scheme because of the potential high costs. The Government of Bihar denied the claim at the time.