We are Own The Past, an organization dealing with stories of History and Legacy. Our Mission is to build pride in Kolkata’s tangible and intangible heritage. Only if we can collectively appreciate our antecedents can we truly become heirs and guardians of our legacy – to respect, preserve and learn.
We believe that it is important to start the discourse on culture and heritage at a young age and hence we bring to you another endeavour targeted towards generating appreciation for Kolkata’s diverse heritage amongst school-going children. This year we are launching a workshop on Architectural Heritage Styles of Kolkata with a focus on students inclined towards art, history and architecture.
The project aims to sensitize students about the different artistic and architectural styles prevailing in the built heritage of our city. Kolkata is home to multiple architectural styles which have evolved over the past 300 years. The architecture is a syncretic mix of the global with the local. From the Neo-Classical and Neo Gothic styles brought by the British and other European communities to the development of the unique Bengali Baroque styles, styles brought in by the trading migrant communities like the Parsis, the Parsis, Armenians, Jews and the Chinese, Art Nouveau, Revivalist styles like the Indo-Saracenic, and modern architectural styles including Art Deco. These styles mixed with local cultural and spatial needs have given birth to architecture which is truly iconic. We believe architecture is a form of visual art and hence are keen to collaborate with those students studying or having a significant background in Art and along with those interested in history and heritage photography.