Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Art is Rubbish / Rubbish is Art

Ernest Zacharevic is a very popular street-art artist in Penang. He is currently (at the date this writing) having his solo show in Penang. The show has attracted a lot of people. But can a wheelchair user visit the show? Here is my short report.


The show is held at an abandoned bus depot. As expected, the entrance is not wheelchair friendly. I needed help to overcome the step. It is obvious that the organizers have forgotten the wheelchair users because this problem can easily overcome by a simple ramp. (See photo above.) Once inside, I discovered that the exhibition space is flat and spacious. (See photos below.)



The exhibition area extended to the back garden and I found three problems there. Firstly, I saw toilets for both men and women, but could not find a wheelchair friendly toilet. Secondly, the walk ways were rather narrow and I had to be very careful when I used my motorized wheelchair.




Thirdly, some of the art works were displayed on a platform beyond my reach. 




As a whole I did enjoy the show. Many of the works were thought provoking. Ernest is a good artist but I doubt if he has any say in the accessibility of the exhibition venue. This is another example that Penang is still very far behind in disabled access. Nothing much has happened in the past few years.

(Here are more photos of the art works and you can find more information of the exhibition at the link HERE.)












(Date of visit: Feb 4th, 2014)