2. Centre for Public History
Established in 2011, the Centre for Public History at the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and
Technology is the only centre of it’s kind in the country. We work on public history,
community history and institutional history through our pedagogy which includes the oral
history within communities and the creation of archives for institutions, communities and
urban landscapes.
3. Malleshwaram Stories: Audioscapes with excerpts from interviews with Malleshwaram
residents were played inside a painted BMTC bus as part of the Malleswaram Moves festival
– an attempt to rethink urban design in Malleshwaram.
CPH and Bangalore
Our public history projects
bring the shared past of a
community alive through
oral history-based
audioscapes, films and
shadow puppetry. In this
way, we engage with and
initiate dialogue with the
residents of the city.
4. The Tiger
comes
to Town
In collaboration with
the Archaeological
Survey of India in
2012, this Public
History initiative was a
site-specific
intervention in story
telling at the
Bangalore Fort.
5. CPH curated an audio tours along
MG Road using excerpts from oral
history interviews with residents and
business owners from the area.
Bangalore Storyscapes
6. Why tell these stories?
• In a rapidly changing present, communities feel
a sense of stability and connectedness through
a tangible connection to their past.
• Stories from the community that are about the
neighbourhood create a greater sense of
ownership and pride leading to greater civic
involvement.
• Communities get a sense of legacy as their
stories become part of repositories that serve as
a resource for the future.
“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because,
and only when, they are created by everybody.” - Jane Jacobs
7. Neighbourhood Museums
Imagining the Possibilities
That are
• Collaborative
• integrating stories from the
neighbourhood within narratives of
urban planning in partnership with
communities
• Versatile and mobile
• Taking different forms and moving to
different locations
• Interactive
• Displaying historical objects sourced
locally, themed exhibits using films,
audioscapes within neighbourhood
kiosks using new technologies such as
touch screens.
8. Halasuru
MG Road Malleshwaram
Through our ongoing engagement with the city CPH has built
relationships within some communities where the idea of the
neighbourhood museum could be tried out. The model could be
replicated in other localities.
Possible Localities
9. • Curated walks through the
neighbourhood.
• Oral History audioscapes at various
locations.
• Creation of places to ponder and interact -
Arallikattes (sitting around the banyan
tree).
• Interactive kiosks that include
neighbourhood stories.
• A digital archive with maps, soundscape
and photographs contributed by the
community.
Further Explorations
