With the launch of Museo Camera Centre for the Photographic Arts in Gurgaon, the city now has the largest collection of cameras in South Asia. By Kumar Shree
When veteran photographer Aditya Arya started collecting cameras some forty years ago, he had never thought that it would become the largest collection in Asia, someday. Yet here we are witnessing the Museo Camera Centre for the Photographic Arts, an iconic establishment of its kind, that houses what we can attribute as Aditya’s collection.
Aditya started with a thought of making the long and interesting history of cameras easily available and accessible to everyone. That is when a collaboration with the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon materialised back in 2016. Three years of collective work together has now evolved into a museum of 18,000 sq ft museum that is all about cameras and has dark rooms, cafeterias, shops, galleries and seminar halls, as well.
Everything at the Museo Camera Centre for the Photographic Arts ‘pans’ around cameras. Right from the black-and-white portrait photograph sitting at the entrance to the centrepiece chandelier made from around 50 twin-lens Yashica cameras. Well, that is not all for even the entry ticket to the museum is shaped like a film roll.
The museum portrays the entire journey, history, and evolution of the camera within its walls. Apart from housing cameras used in the WWI and WWII, a camera obscura (used for creating portraits in the 19th century), the world’s oldest 3D camera, and even the smallest camera made with a prism; it also houses vintage-styled interactive studios, where you can actually click photographs and develop them, too.
The museum is also going to launch a Kulwant Roy Collection from October 2. Kulwant Roy was the head of Associated Press Photograph and oversaw documenting the independence movement.
Where: Shri Ganesh Mandir Marg, DLF Phase IV, Sector 28, Gurugram, Haryana 122002
Timings: From 11 am to 7 pm on all seven days.
Tickets: From INR 200.
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