Taragaon Museum

The Taragaon Museum is a private museum located in Kathmandu. It is located in the northern part of the city near the Bouddhanath stupa. It is situated on the ground of the Taragaon Regency hotel, which owns the museum. The museum is supported by the Saraf Foundation. The museum features a permanent collection in three of its building and a contemporary art gallery.

The permanent exhibition is titled "ARCHIVING FOR THE FUTURE" which is a curated display that explores the juncture of time, architecture, and archives documented through memory and people and highlights the role of archiving in preserving and promoting our shared heritage for future generations.

The Nepal Architecture Archive (NAA), officially founded in 2016, is housed on the sprawling premises of the Taragaon Museum. This growing and versatile archive with rare photographs, books, surveys, blueprints, objects, and invaluable notes serves as readings of Nepal's fast-changing urban landscapes and cultural nuances. Documented over the years by numerous international and local visiting scholars and artists, the archive houses collected and donated material by over a hundred contributors whose research maps histories of varied architectural elements and materials for future understanding and documentation.

Niels Gutschow curated a collection of works by architects, anthropologists, artists, cartographers, engineers, photographers, planners, researchers, and advisors to the government for public viewing across the seven buildings of Carl Pruscha's Taragaon Hostel, converted into the Taragaon Museum in 2014. The fascinating architectural structures with their brick walls, niches, and large round windows proved to be a space that spurred curiosity in the direction of the architectural archive to understand Nepal's (primarily Kathmandu Valley) architectural landscapes and the changes it has undergone over the past few decades. The earlier exhibition display focused on academically highlighting photographs, etchings, maps, plans, and drawings. Taking a cue from these elements, this show of the permanent collection of NAA aims to open up access to a broader audience who will, over time, become the keepers and future contributors of the archive and the conveners of their museum, and their histories and futures at Taragaon Next.

To facilitate a refreshed vision of the Nepal Architecture Archive, the curatorial team envisioned looking at a broad overview of four primary themes across three galleries: People and Places (portraits, studio, and topography), Vernacular Architecture, Architectural Surveys, and Monuments (Stupas, chaityas, temples, and mandaps). The maps, photographs, objects, and ephemera that articulate these four themes are either originals or reprints of materials from the archive by scholars, researchers, and contributors who have spent years and some decades documenting the lives and landscapes of people and places they encountered. Each gallery offers various access points for visitors to the archive with their own stories and histories. While the display will remain for two years, there will be constant interventions and interactions within these gallery spaces by other artists as well as elements of the exhibition that will continue to evolve and change to encourage visitors to return. In addition, the exhibition offers modules for learning, interaction, engagement, and experience for children, students, scholars, and curious visitors through materials from the archive, immersive works, and programming that activates the spaces to grow knowledge and connect with the archive.

History
The Austrian-style brick structure was built as a hostel for artists and scientist in 1970s. Nepal started permitting foreign visitors in 1950s. The hostel was built to reflect the "Nepaliness" to the visitors. The land in which the hostel stands was acquired by His Majesty's Government in 1969. The land was transferred to the Nepal Women's Association. In 1970, Angur Baba Joshi, a prominent Nepalese scholar met Austrian architect Carl Pruscha, who served as a UN and UNESCO consultant to the Nepalese government. She then commissioned him to design the hostel. Joshi wanted to create a cultural village for artists in Nepal. The construction began in 1974 and the entire complex was inaugurated on the 25 September 1974, in the presence of Queen Aishwarya Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah. The style of the structure is a combination of Nepalese and Pruscha's European modernist architecture.

In 1990 the Nepal Women's Association was abolished after the restoration of democracy in Nepal. In 1997, the hostel was abandoned. The property was later acquired by Arun Saraf, the owner of the adjacent Hyatt hotel. It was then renovated into a museum.

Exhibits
The museum covers an area of 35,000 sq. feet. The museum exhibits 18th and 19th century photographs, watercolors and engravings, artist sketches, maps, plans, drawings and various other documentations in its permanent collection. Besides its permanent collection, the museum also has a contemporary art gallery, event hall and two outdoor amphitheaters.

Events
The museum host various art related events and festivals. The museum campus is also used for book release events and musical performance. The museum was one of the host of Kathmandu Triennale 2077 alongside the Patan Museum, Bahadur Shah Baithak, Nepal Art Council and Siddhartha Art Gallery.