Our Delhi friends should go to the museum and let us know how they like it.
I saw an exhibition at Brila museum in Kolkata, specially organised for the
vi students a few years back. I was really impressed by their representation
of the sky. I am trying to give you the idea. They built an umbrella of
plywood. Beads were set on the bottom side of this umbrella which any vi
person standing beneath the umbrella could feel by touch. They built
separate umbrellas for winter and summer sky for representing different
zodiaks etc.
We were also taken to the coal mine display and allowed to touch everything.
With best regards,
Amiyo Biswas
Cel: 9433464329
----- Original Message -----
From: "avinash shahi" <[email protected]>
To: "accessindia" <[email protected]>; "jnuvision"
<[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, December 26, 2015 5:24 PM
Subject: [AI] Indian Express FrontPage today: At National Museum, exhibition
for those who can’t see
Delhites, lets visit the museum early next year? what say?
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/at-national-museum-exhibition-for-those-who-cant-see/
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/at-national-museum-exhibition-for-those-who-cant-see/
It was in March that Spain’s national art gallery, the Prado Museum in
Madrid, mounted a unique exhibition for the visually impaired. From
Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa to works by 16th and 17th-century
masters like Correggio and Velázquez, visitors could touch and feel
the paintings specially recreated in the form of 3D models.
But few know that while the Spanish exhibition was being put together,
something bigger was taking shape back home. Experts at the National
Museum in Delhi were brainstorming alongside representatives from
Unesco and volunteers from an NGO to create a permanent art showcase
for the visually impaired in the capital.
Almost an year in the making, Anubhav: A Tactile Experience was
finally thrown open last week to mark the museum’s 55th foundation
day. Replicas of 22 rare exhibits have been specially created for
display here, besides an audio guide with details about each artwork
and neat labels in Braille.
“The exhibits were carefully selected by our curators to interest
visitors of all ages and offer them a good representation of our huge
collection spanning centuries and mediums,” said Vijay Mathur, curator
(lecturing and education), National Museum.
“Also, the idea was to select art pieces that could translate into a
good tactile experience,” he added.
“Museums have come a long way to accommodate the disabled. Wheelchair
access has improved and many museums offer tours in sign language for
the deaf. But what about the visually impaired who can’t experience
art because even touching artworks is strictly prohibited at museums?
This gallery might offer an answer,” said a spokesperson for the NGO
Saksham, which works with the visually impaired.
According to the spokesperson, the visually impaired “are generally
excluded from experiencing art, barring the Louvre in Paris, New
York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and London’s National Gallery, which
offer guided tours with audio and Braille”.
At Anubhav: A Tactile Experience, 3D replicas of various artwork have
been created by the museum’s modelling department, with a special
emphasis on dimensions. For instance, a mid-19th century coin from the
Awadh region has been recreated in 23-inch diameter and 2-inch
thickness to offer a detailed sensory experience.
“The amount of magnification will help them understand each and every
detail properly,” said Joyoti Roy from the museum’s outreach
department, who was involved in the project’s inception.
Among the exhibits is a 1634 AD Malwa painting of Lord Ram with a
golden deer that has been recreated in 3D.
Besides, there’s the famous Sarnath Buddha statue, shields, busts,
sculptures, archaeological finds and several landmark paintings — all
have been recreated in the form of 3D models that visitors can feel
and experience.
Inaugurating the gallery, Narendra Kumar Sinha, secretary, Ministry of
Culture, said, “The museum-going experience in India until now has
been largely for persons with sight. The importance of this
multi-sensory and multi-disciplinary approach to engage with art and
the museum is yet unexplored. This is going to change now.”
Besides Saksham and Unesco, organisations such as Open Knowledge
Community, IIT-Delhi and National Platform for the Rights of the
Disabled have been involved in the project. “Group bookings can be
made three days in advance so that guides can be arranged to help the
visitors. The museum’s own staff have also been trained to offer a
guided experience for walk-in visitors,” said Roy.
Said Mathur, “This was actually a long-pending project. We held many
workshops, we realised that we needed to install displays along a
straight, unobstructed path, an audio guide and 3D paintings.” There
is also a separate, wheelchair-enabled access ramp.
As of now, though, the museum is not mulling any additions to the
gallery owing to a shortage of space. “The commitment has been to
expand access into our museum for all visitors. While this is a
learning curve, we will continue to make efforts to make the museum
open and accessible to all,” said Sanjiv Mittal, director-general,
National Museum.
Mathur added, “We should not think of this gallery as strictly for the
specially abled. In fact, people with sight can simply close their
eyes and feel art in a new dimension.”
--
Avinash Shahi
Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU
Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of
mobile phones / Tabs on:
http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in
Search for old postings at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
To unsubscribe send a message to
[email protected]
with the subject unsubscribe.
To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes,
please visit the list home page at
http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
Disclaimer:
1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of
the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its
veracity;
2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails
sent through this mailing list..
Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of
mobile phones / Tabs on:
http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in
Search for old postings at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
To unsubscribe send a message to
[email protected]
with the subject unsubscribe.
To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please
visit the list home page at
http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
Disclaimer:
1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the
person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity;
2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent
through this mailing list..
