Goa Museum's 3 Exhibitions Celebrate 100+ Festival Artworks

A museum in Goa is turning festivals into art, and the results are stunning.

The Museum of Goa launched three exhibitions that dive deep into the cultural heart of India's coastal state. The centerpiece, "Festivals of Goa," features more than 100 artworks by over 90 artists celebrating everything from well-known celebrations to hidden community gatherings that rarely make headlines.

"Festivals are the stories communities tell about themselves," says museum director Sharada Kerkar. The exhibition uses photographs, multimedia pieces, and collaborative installations to show how Goan communities navigate tradition and modern life side by side.

One of the most striking features is a collection of giant installations. Visitors can walk among a towering demon Narakasur figure, a Christmas tree made entirely of crochet, and a massive matoli, the traditional canopy of fruits and flowers that defines Goan Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations.

The second exhibition, "Side by Side," emerged from an open call that drew 140 submissions from artists across India. At a time when division often dominates headlines, this showcase asks viewers to literally stand beside one another and see the world through different eyes.

Within these exhibitions sits a special treasure: a children's art show curated by the museum's Children's Art Studio. Young artists share their own experiences of festivals, capturing celebration through fresh, unfiltered perspectives that adults often miss.

The Ripple Effect

The museum's approach goes beyond displaying pretty pictures. A photography exhibition called "Seen/Unseen" looks past the colorful spectacle to reveal the hands that make celebrations possible: the people who prepare, anticipate, and devote themselves to bringing communities together.

Three photographers received grants providing financial support, mentorship, and guidance to document these hidden stories. Their 50 photographs capture the labor of love that happens before the first guest arrives and after the last one leaves.

The Museum of Goa, founded in 2014, has made its mission to tell stories through accessible art. This latest collection proves that festivals do more than mark time on a calendar—they show us who we are and remind us how deeply we belong to one another.

The exhibitions reveal Goa's syncretic identity, where different faiths, traditions, and communities weave together into something uniquely beautiful. Through interfaith practices and shared histories, these artworks become both mirror and map for understanding how celebration builds bridges.

In a world that often focuses on what divides us, over 90 artists just showed us what brings us together.