THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If things pan out, the Sree Chitra Art Gallery at the Napier Museum and Zoo campus will attract more visitors. The Museums and Zoos Department has begun the modernisation work of the gallery which is touted to be raised to international standards.
Preliminary measures in this regard have been taken, said Minister for Museums and Ports Ramachandran Kadannapally. The minister elaborated on the plans for the Museum and Zoo campus in the state capital in a written reply to the Assembly.
The Sree Chitra Art Gallery owns works of acclaimed artists including Raja Ravi Varma and Nicholas Roerich, the Russian writer and painter. “Already, the gallery has been made more attractive by modernising existing facilities. In addition to this, preliminary steps have been adopted to expand the gallery and elevate it to international standards with a modern complex,” he said.
Opened by the then king of Travancore, Sree Chithira Tirunal Balarama Varma, the gallery also boasts works from the Rajput, Tanjore, Mughal and oriental schools of art besides fine examples of old Indian mural art.
The museums in Thiruvananthapuram, the minister said, are already known internationally. The modernisation programme for the art gallery as well other facilities including the Napier Museum and the Natural History Museum are designed taking this aspect into account, said the minister.
Work is already in progress at the Natural History Museum. When it reopens, visitors will be treated to state-of-the-art viewing systems including 3D display features. The government has also kicked off a development programme for the zoo which has been endorsed by the National Zoo Authority, the minister said.
Construction of new enclosures for the Indian Gaur and other animals are in progress. For modernising the Napier Museum, the state government had formed a committee to coordinate the modernisation of the building and making arrangements for better display of the exhibits.