Tuesday, Sep 14, 2004
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Thiruvananthapuram
By G. Mahadevan
A sketch of the proposed gallery.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. Sept. 13. Unable to find financial support from the Central Government for the modernisation of the Sri Chithra Art Gallery here, the Department of Museums and Zoos recently forwarded a Rs.10-crore proposal to the Government of Japan to relocate and reconstruct the gallery. The funds are being sought under the `Grant Aid for Cultural Heritage' of the Japanese Government. At the heart of the proposal are plans to construct a new world-class, multi-level gallery with a floor area of 94,000 sq.ft., capable of displaying all the 1,142 paintings in the collection of the art gallery. At present, only 420 paintings are displayed for want of space. The lower ground floor of the proposed gallery would have, among other things, a conservation laboratory, storage space for the paintings and other visitor comforts. The ground floor of the new gallery would house the reception, the library and reading room, an auditorium and staff rooms. The mezzanine floor just above would house the ticket counter, the museum shop and would have another storage area for the exhibits.
Theme galleries
The first floor of the new `Sri Chithralayam' would have six theme galleries where the paintings would be housed using modern display techniques. There would be a gallery for the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma, one for displaying the works of the pioneers of Indian art, one for Buddhist paintings, one for contemporary Indian paintings, one for contemporary Indian sculptures and one for paintings from Japanese, Chinese, Tibetan and other Asian schools of art. There would also be special terraces for housing temporary exhibits.
Major features
The most striking features of these display spaces would be the climate-control measures and the lighting system. "At present, paintings at the art gallery are displayed wherever there is space - even under the staircase, where they are open to the climate. The new galleries would have heat and humidity control mechanisms and would have an advanced lighting system which would enable strain-free viewing and would also not damage the paintings themselves in any manner. There would also be special seating arrangements for the aged and the physically challenged visitors at the new gallery," says the director of the Museum and the Zoo, C.S. Yelakki. Another major feature of the new gallery would be the `visitor comfort' provisions. The present gallery has virtually nothing by way of visitor comfort. In the proposed gallery, there would be toilet facilities on each floor, in addition to a cloakroom on the ground floor. The mezzanine floor would also have a counter to deposit the luggage of the visitors. Moreover, the gallery's lobby would have seating arrangements for the visitors. Advanced security mechanisms, including closed-circuit cameras would be installed in the new gallery to safeguard the priceless paintings on display, the project report says. The report also notes that the State Government will meet the financial requirements of managing and maintaining the new art gallery once it is completed.
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