HP’s first programme in Asia for digital preservation of art

Bangalore: HP (NYSE:HPQ), in partnership with the Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), today launched a program for digital preservation and dissemination of art in India. Under this program, select paintings from the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), a leading museum run and administered by the Government of India, will be digitized and a digital library will be created that will make NGMA's art accessible to a global audience via the world-wide web, and more than 200 paintings of Rabindranath Tagore and Amrita Sher-Gill will be digitized and preserved using HP equipment.

HP will support the program with image capture, proofing, storage and cataloging of the works of these world-renowned artists. HP Labs in India will work closely with C-DAC and NGMA on this project. C-DAC will create the digital library and implement the project, and HP & C-DAC will provide personnel training to NGMA, who will handle long-term program implementation.

"We are proud of the role technology is playing in this landmark initiative and believe that this partnership will pave the way for preservation of rare Indian art. Moreover, it will provide a window to the world to share in India's rich cultural heritage," said Ms Debra L. Dunn, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, HP
"We are delighted to be associated with this project. C-DAC's expertise and solutions for digital content management will perfectly complement HP's expertise in system infrastructure and imaging," said R.K. Arora, executive director, C-DAC. "C-DAC will use its digital libraries software for this initiative and will host the online images of the art - on equipment provided by HP - at our Bangalore facility."

"This program will increase NGMA's visibility on the global stage. Indian art, which is already recognized and acknowledged for its richness, will benefit with this initiative," said Prof Rajeev Lochan, Director, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.