Curatorial Autonomy in PPP Museums: The Case of Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum

The traditional museum governance model positions curators at the centre of institutional authority, whereas hybrid governance frameworks such as Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) introduce new managerial, financial, and accountability structures that may reframe this autonomy. This paper explores the degree of dilution of curatorial autonomy by examining the challenges of maintaining and negotiating it across five dimensions: decision-making authority, narrative control, resource dependency, institutional governance, accountability and transparency. Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai is the first Museum in India working under hybrid museum governance (PPP) is an appropriate case study for exploring the challenges of curatorial autonomy. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and document analysis. The findings shows that curatorial autonomy is not fully protected or eroded, rather it is working as a negotiated condition that is relatively strong in exhibition-making and narrative control, but it is limited by municipal ownership, veto power and administrative mechanisms.