Leela Viswanathan profiles the dynamic Deepali Dewan, Assistant Curator - ROM, responsible for accelerating the development of the South Asian Gallery....

With a Tazzo chai in hand to break the chill of a Spring afternoon, Deepali Dewan recently shared with Kala her enthusiasm for Toronto, her passion for curating and her vision of museums in contemporary culture.

Among her responsibilities as the Royal Ontario Museum’s (ROM) Associate Curator of South Asian Civilizations, Deepali Dewan oversees exhibits within the Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery. She has been impressed by how South Asian communities and friends of the ROM have established and supported this gallery, created a curatorship and made acquisition funds available. She wants to develop new strategies for the gallery to display and tell stories of South Asia. "Museums," says Dewan "have historically presented objects in a way that their point of origin is the only thing that is important. But objects have biographies beyond their points of origin. That entire biography is the kind of thing that I would find a way to show or tell in the gallery."

Deepali Dewan was born in New Delhi. Her parents came to the United States when she was seven years old and settled in Massachusetts. Dewan knew from a young age that she wanted to study Art. Says Dewan, "For me, Art History was always a way to get a deeper understanding of culture, and ultimately myself. In high school it was always impressed upon me how art could tell us stories about ourselves."

While pursuing her undergraduate studies at McGill in the early 1990s, Dewan’s love of art and theatre were further nurtured and she juggled her studies with co-managing McGill Players’ Theatre. McGill was followed by eight years of graduate school at the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining the ROM, Dewan’s career included stints at the Asia Society in New York and at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Now, Dewan speaks of how Toronto’s diversity, its vibrant and safe neighbourhoods and the friendliness of its people have won her over and made this city her new home.

Research and scholarship are central to curatorial work at the ROM, however central to work in the museum are activities that draw in the public. Dewan values the role that the museum can play in reaching the broader community and ultimately in bringing audiences within the museum’s walls. It is this balance of research, writing and public interaction that drew Dewan to pursuing this particular curator position at the ROM. "I wanted the best of both worlds and in many ways this job is just this for me. I love doing research, I love writing and publishing. I also knew that this position involved a lot of public contact. And I wanted that. I want to interact with communities to understand what their interests are, so that a variety of voices actually get in the museum walls."

Dewan has researched 19th Century art schools in South Asia. According to Dewan, these art schools started by the British have played a significant role in determining how we understand South Asian art today. It is a topic that bridges not only the role of the museum, but the role of the audience in the appreciation, understanding and collection of art and artifacts.

In addition to her uncompromising commitment to her research and scholarship, Dewan’s eagerness in fostering involvement of the South Asian communities in the ROM’s programming is clear. "The museum structure is based on research and I am really passionate about it. And I try to walk through the gallery-because when you actually see the works on display and who is your audience, you realize that this is what you work for."