Nita Ambani joins New York Metropolitan Museum of Art board
NEWYORK: A head of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 150th anniversary, philanthropist and chairperson of the Reliance Foundation Nita Ambani has been elected to the board of the prestigious museum for her “truly exceptional” commitment to preserve and promote India’s art and culture.
Chairman of the museum Daniel Brodsky announced that Ambani has been named its honorary trustee. Her election took place at the meeting of the board on Tuesday.
Besides honorary trustees, the museum board has elective, ex-officio and trustee emiriti, which includes the Mayor of New York City. Till last month, editor in chief of Vogue magazine Dame Anna Wintour was an elective trustee of the board.
Welcoming Ambani, 56, to the board, Brodsky, in a statement, said that her “commitment to The Met and to preserving and promoting
India’s art and culture is truly exceptional. Her support has an enormous impact on the museum’s ability to study and display art from every corner of the world.” Ambani is also the founder and chairperson of the Reliance Foundation, which has supported The Met since 2016, beginning with a retrospective on Nasreen Mohamedi, the first of the artist in the United States as well as one of the Met Breuer’s inaugural exhibitions.
“It has been deeply rewarding for me over the past several years to support The Metropolitan Museum of Art in its desire to expand and enhance its program of exhibiting the arts of India. I have been moved and impressed by The Met’s keen interest, which enables our commitment to seeing Indian art and culture represented on the global platform. This great distinction inspires me to redouble my efforts on behalf of India’s heritage, from the ancient to the contemporary,” Ambani said in a statement.
Ambani is also a member of The Met’s International Council. The museum announced in October 2017 that the Reliance Foundation promised a “generous gift” to support exhibitions that explore and celebrate the arts of India. It had not stated the amount of the gift.
The Met collects, studies, conserves, and presents significant works of art across all times and cultures in order to connect people to creativity, knowledge, and ideas. It will complete 150 years of existence in 2020.