Differently abled to get more facilities at art gallery

Neha Saini
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, January 15

Making the SG Thakar Singh Art Gallery more accessible, the Indian Academy of Fine Arts (IAFA) plans to implement structural and other changes to turn the building disable-friendly.

As the wheelchair facility has been introduced and staff have been recruited to help the disable move around inside the premises, the academy now plans to construct ramps and provide separate washroom facilities to the differently abled for more accessibility.

“The building was constructed several decades ago. Therefore, lack of certain amenities for the disabled had been noticed and work on them is going on. We have provided wheelchairs and hired trained staff to help people with disabilities inside the premises. Now, we are planning to construct washrooms and ramps inside the auditorium as well with the help of the PWD,” said Arvinder Chamak, general secretary, IAFA.

The art gallery will be the third cultural hub in the city to turn disable-friendly after Virsa Vihar and Punjab Natshala. Several government and non-government buildings in the city are yet to offer the facility.

I have visited galleries and art spaces in Delhi where they have lifts, wheelchairs and ramps as a mandatory design feature. Helpers and assistance is also provided, but Amritsar still needs to develop such spaces. Signboards should be installed, elevators be made and some significant changes might help root out challenges for easy commute for the disabled. In some foreign galleries, special paintings are being created for people with sight impairment, which they can touch and perceive. Such foresight is also required here,” he said.