When wrestling enters the museum

What happens when one of India's oldest sporting traditions enters a museum? “Grip, Hold, Pin” at the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bengaluru, looks beyond wrestling as a contest of physical strength to explore its connections with community, identity, labour, discipline and the body. Bringing historical objects into conversation with photography, the exhibition is on view at the Infosys Foundation Gallery from August 15 to November 1, 2026. (instagram: mapbanglore)

Wrestling Beyond the Akhara: Grip, Hold, Pin asks visitors to look at wrestling as a living cultural tradition, rather than simply a sport. The exhibition examines how wrestling has been represented through art, photography, objects and visual culture, revealing the social worlds that surround the practice. (PR Handout)

A Dialogue Across Centuries: The exhibition doesn't follow a straightforward historical timeline. Instead, miniature paintings, nals, joris and textile labels are displayed alongside modern and contemporary photographs. Together, they create a conversation across centuries about strength, discipline, spectacle, gender, the body and community. (PR Handout)

Photography Takes Centre Stage: Photography is central to the exhibition, but the images go beyond documenting wrestling matches. Works by Jyoti Bhatt, the late Raghu Rai and T.S. Satyan, alongside contemporary photographers, explore discipline, labour, vulnerability and quiet moments of humanity. The photographs also become records of memory and cultural change. (PR Handout)

The World Around Wrestling: For generations, wrestling has been practised in neighbourhood akharas, celebrated through mythology and visual culture, and sustained by communities. The exhibition explores how this tradition has shaped ideas of aspiration, resilience and belonging, while bringing it into a museum context rarely seen in the subcontinent. (PR Handout)

Contemporary Stories of Wrestling: Contemporary photographers Indrajit Khambe and Prarthna Singh bring lived experiences into the exhibition. Khambe's photographs explore the traditions and communities surrounding wrestling, while Singh's decade-long series Champion looks beyond the arena at the lives, aspirations and quiet resilience of women connected with the sport. (PR handout)

On View Until November 1: Rather than giving visitors definitive answers, Grip, Hold, Pin encourages them to reconsider what museums preserve, how photography shapes collective memory and how traditions evolve. The exhibition is on view from August 15 to November 1, 2026, at the Infosys Foundation Gallery, Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bengaluru. (instagram: mapbangalore)