Audrey House is all set to welcome the President on January 9. Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the heritage building during his visit to the State capital. The renovation project of Ranchi’s grand old Audrey House has been lingering since long due to several bureaucratic hurdles. The heritage house is ready to get a fresh breath of life and would be converted into an art gallery in the coming days.
“The renovation work is complete. Artists are giving final touches to the project. The inauguration ceremony is scheduled to be held at 6:30 PM on January 9. However, the programme list will be finalised soon,” said Anil Kumar Singh, Director, Art and Culture department.
Giving details about the project, Singh pointed out, “More than 300 paintings were selected by the panelists. Panelists include Ashok Bhaumik from lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi, Milan Das from Bihar Kala Academy and members of Shantiniketan. Art works and paintings of artists from Jharkhand will only be put up at the art gallery, giving several artists platform to showcase their versatility. As far the selection procedure of paintings is concerned, a committee of seven members has been formed to select the paintings and other artistic work for inauguration ceremony.”
located in the heart of the city, the art gallery of tribal painting and other sculptors depicting the traditional lifestyle of tribals will be showcased here, giving several people a chance to get a glimpse of tribal culture and to know more about the land of forest. Architects associated with the renovation project have designed the entire house accordingly. To conserve and maintain 159 years old iconic heritage building was a major challenge for the architects too associated with the project.
“Entire concept has been designed accordingly; the rooms have been transformed into various sections. Two separate rooms are designed to keep the antique items to restore the traditional tribal art forms. Our team has designed separate section for preservation of decade old coins, painting and sculptors. Theme based platforms are designed, so that artists can put their creations time to time,” informed Gopinath Mahato, an architect involved in the renovation project and interior decoration.
Citing details about the area and interior decoration Mahato added, “We have consulted various renowned artists like Haren Thakur and other artists from Jharkhand for the purpose. The team has selected colours, so that all the paintings and sculptors are depicted well giving the minute details of the concept. Electrical consultants were also consulted before designing different sections.”
The exterior is being designed by Indian National Trust Art and Culture Heritage (INTACH), a heritage consultant architecture firm. Apart from this, an information centre and office has also been constituted at Audrey House.
Art gallery, museum, MP Theatre, garden and arena have been designed for enhancing art and culture practice among people in the city. “Though we have one art gallery located at Hotwar but it becomes difficult for people to visit the place on regular basis. After the inauguration of art gallery in city, various forms of art can be promoted on a much wider scale,” said Amitabh Mukherjee, a sculptor.
Built in 1854 by Captain Huntington, the deputy commissioner of Chotanagpur between 1850 and 1856 — the two-storey house functioned as an extension of the governor’s secretariat. The former Governor of Jharkhand Dr. Syed Ahmad laid the foundation of renovating Audrey house in 2013 and Christen Audrey House came to be known as Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre.