EXHIBITIONS ATTEMPT TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE OF THE BLIND
City exhibitions have come up with tactile objects, braille descriptions
How does one gain their first access into the world of art, and what is it that offers them the sense that helps them appreciate it? Through the eye, is the prompt response one gets on asking around. But does the beauty of art not lie in it being able to be perceived and soaked in through other senses, too? Then why is it that those who can’t see seldom get a chance to appreciate art?
But that is changing now. The National Museum’s ongoing exhibition, titled India and the World: A History in Nine Stories, is a first-of-itskind attempt to lend inclusivity to the world of art appreciation.
The detailed exhibition has over 200 objects on display — some of the most foremost works of art from around 20 museums and private collections across the world, including the British Museum, London. And 18 highlights from these are tactile recreations. Alongside there are text descriptions in Braille and even a special audio guide, not to mention a tactile path laid down to make it easy for the visually-impaired to manoeuvre independently.
“When I had started working to make museums more accessible to the physically disabled, and approached people, they often commented: ‘Jo dekh nahin sakte wo museum aake kya karenge (One who can’t see has nothing to do in a musuem)’,” recalls Siddhanth Shah, consultant, who has worked to make the ongoing exhibition at National Museum inclusive for the blind. Shah has also worked as a design consultant with UNESCO to make World Heritags Sites in India, disabled-friendly. “Just think if tomorrow you wake up and are told that you can’t visit a museum because you are fat or short. If discrimination at that level isn’t acceptable, then why discriminate against the disabled?” Shah asks.
BR Mani, director-general, National Museum, says the idea to make art accessible for the disabled was conceived when they set up Anubhav — A Tactile Gallery, inside the museum. “We wanted the visually-impaired to not just hear the descriptions of the artworks on display, but also feel them. The museum has over two lakh pieces. Making all of them digitally tactile was difficult so we brought different masterpieces from different collections to be experienced at one place,” he says.
Despite their strong desire to experience and be able to appreciate art, enthusiasts like Vasundhara Raturi, a student of Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi University, feel museums in the Capital are not disabled-friendly. “If I can’t touch the exhibit or there’s no one to explain, it remains an unfulfilled experience. There are so many museums in my city that I would love to visit, but I know that they don’t have the required facilities for people like me, so I don’t go,” Raturi says.
Gallerists agree that art needs to be more inclusive, but add that putting it into practice is a tough ask. “It’s a huge challenge to get more people to experience art. The disabled are particularly peripheral to the world of art. Our inventory is massive, but to be able to make at least some parts of it accessible to the visuallyimpaired, we have created some artworks in digitally tactile format,” says Kishore Singh, head, exhibitions and publications, DAG.