National Gallery of Modern Art (Bengaluru) — Attraction in Bengaluru

It is a beautiful place for art design culture but there needs to be an upgrade in the systems and rules to give more clarity to the visitors and make their experience better. Remove redundancies - ngma asks for name and mobile details of visitors at the entrance counter for printing a ticket. It is absolutely pointless and redundant when the visitors are then made to write their name and mobile number in a physical paper. You streamline your backend operations instead of making visitors and staff do the same task twice.

Feedback form is an open book but visitors cannot read previous suggestions made. - Again, if you are taking people's contact number in your suggestion register and privacy is a reason why your receptionist tells me I cannot read the suggestions it doesn't make sense. You may take suggestions with personal details on paper and have them put in a drop box or don't take details at all. But you cannot say I am not allowed to read suggestions made in a book right above the line i am writing on.

**3a - Clear indications of prohibited entry- please have a signage printed or small blockers put up where visitors cannot enter. Ngma cannot assume visitors would know accessible and non accessible areas and having a security whistle out loudly at you is an awful experience.

**3b - Entry in the balcony with the terracotta flooring, facing the courtyard, right outside the 1st floor gallery is allowed. But if visitors step 2 feet on the side of the same balcony suddenly they prohibited? The only reason is your security cannot keep an eye inside the gallery, and outside the gallery at the same time so when the visitors moves by 2 feet, they are in a blind spot of the security. The security will obviously want everyone to be in his sight. Ngma this is your responsibility - make clear indication of how much of the balcony is accessible because it is frustrating to be obstructed by your staff each time with no logical reasons as they might be burdened by responsibilities given by you to patrol more area than what a single person can. Put signages..you are a museum - printing essential information is not to difficult.

4 - Bags - the first response of security is always to submit bags even if I simply want to enter the shop or the cafe..Obstruction seems like first nature here again. But after visiting the shop, when it is time for me to actually enter the gallery i am allowed to carry it by bag because it is small.. please have clarity in rules when a bag is or isn't allowed..and security's first response cannot be to ask visitors to "submit the bag here" without even knowing if my intention is to access the gallery or the cafe..

In all, unexpected obstructions has been a continuous experience for me in the 3 times I have entered with redundancies that can easily be addressed and communications on rules and restrictions that can be clear and evident.

Please have an internal discussion. I would like to discuss if you need support from other user experience designers or architects or museum experience...

The ambience of the gallery is fantastic. There is almost no noise in the surroundings thereby making the experience very serene. The first thing that comes to mind is the display. I visited during the Chiselled exhibition which was based on several sculptures done by female artists. The display of those sculptures were fantastic. The lighting, the sense of negative space to perfectly experience the sculpture were immaculate. Apart from that, in the other wing, several paintings were displayed which I believe is always ongoing and not a special exhibition. There were paintings from the Bengal School of Art which is one of my favorite art movements. Modern artworks were the majority as is the name. Some of the artworks were huge and aptly displayed allowing you to view them at your own pace. There is an affordable shop near the entrance where you can buy prints. There is also a nice simple cafe. There is an auditorium where events are held now and then.

Now for some drawbacks. Firstly, the display being as fantastic as it is, the captions which included the artwork details and the artists' names were very small and most of them were very difficult to find in the lowly lit spaces. I counted at least 3-4 artworks which didn't have any captions so we were unable to know anything about the artist's names. This was a major negative point during the visit which I mentioned in the feedback book present near the entrance to the halls.

Secondly, there were no catalogues which we could refer to while viewing the ongoing exhibition as well as the regular exhibition of the modern art paintings. Therefore we could only note down the names of the artworks and artists, about whom we didn't know much, to search for them later on from the web.

The listening app is not very helpful as it doesn't have the specific artworks present in the actual exhibition gallery, thereby it is kind of useless in terms of this specific exhibition. The website also doesn't have any information catalogue for the exhibitions.

Things you can't do inside the gallery: No videos and selfies please! You may take photos of the artworks preferably without the use of a flash. Please don't make a chaos inside as the ambience is very peaceful as is required to view and understand such pieces of art.

Overall it was a fantastic experience but the drawbacks kept us looking for more information about the excellent pieces of art we...

A Hidden Gem in Bangalore’s Cultural Scene!

I recently visited the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in Bangalore, and it truly exceeded my expectations. Tucked away in the peaceful Manikyavelu Mansion on Palace Road, this place is a quiet retreat from the city’s chaos—a perfect blend of heritage, modern architecture, and thought-provoking Indian art.

What I Loved:

✅ Beautiful Campus: Spread over 3.5 acres, the property is lush, green, and serene. The colonial-era mansion with its wide verandas, high ceilings, and wooden staircases has been perfectly maintained. The modern wing with glass and steel offers a striking contrast—yet they merge so well.

✅ Rich Art Collection: The gallery houses artworks by legendary Indian artists like Raja Ravi Varma, Amrita Sher-Gil, Rabindranath Tagore, and M.F. Husain. There are sculptures, miniatures, oil paintings, photographs, and even contemporary installations. The curation flows well—from colonial to modern and contemporary Indian art.

✅ Interactive Spaces & Events: They regularly host workshops, film screenings, heritage walks, and lectures. When I visited, they had a summer art camp for kids called Varnamāle, and the energy was fantastic.

✅ Facilities: There’s a café, a small book/gift shop, and a clean art reference library. Plenty of benches around the gardens if you just want to sit and take it all in.

Entry & Timing:

🕙 Open: 10 AM to 5 PM

❌ Closed: Mondays & National Holidays

🎟️ Entry Fee: ₹20 for Indian citizens, ₹500 for foreigners, Free for school students (with ID)

Note: Photography is not allowed inside the gallery. But the gardens are perfect for taking aesthetic outdoor photos.

Location & Accessibility:

📍 Located in Vasanth Nagar, close to landmarks like Cubbon Park and Vidhana Soudha. Easy to reach by auto, taxi, or BMTC bus. 🚉 About 3.5 km from MG Road metro station. 🅿️ Parking available for two-wheelers and limited car slots.

Final Verdict:

A must-visit for art lovers, students, families, and even tourists looking to explore India’s artistic heritage in a peaceful and elegant setting. Whether you love classical miniatures or modern abstract, there’s something here that’ll move you. I’d definitely return!

⭐ Pro Tip: Visit on a weekday morning for a quieter experience. Grab a book from the library, sit by the lotus pond, and soak in...