Gallery opens in Beijing to highlight creativity of China's disabled community
CULTURE
By Wang Wei

2017-04-24 13:54 GMT+8

0km to Beijing

On Sunday, the Gallery for Disabled Artists opened in downtown Beijing. The venue is the  first fine art establishment in China dedicated to displaying the artistic creativity of physically disabled  people.
Located on the third floor of the China Braille Library, the gallery’s 280 square meters displays more than 150 artworks, ranging from paintings, drawings, sculptures and calligraphies, all produced by people with disabilities involving sight, hearing, speech or the use of their limbs. 
The opening ceremony of the Gallery for Disabled Artists in Beijing. /China News Photo.
Attending the opening ceremony was Ms. Zhang Haidi, chairperson of the China Disabled Persons' Federation. A paraplegic since early childhood who has become a noted writer, she spoke highly of the initiative, calling it "a stage for the artistic brilliance for the disabled".
Ms. Zhang also expressed hopes that the gallery will serve as a forum, where able-bodied people can appreciate the talent and creativity of the less fortunate. 
Wheelchair-bound dancers in northeast China's Liaoning province in 2016. /VCG Photo. 
According to China.com, a government website, there are more than 82 million people with various physical  disabilities in China, accounting 6.3 percent of its total population.
Since the early 1980s, the Chinese government has made a consistent effort to improve the well-being and dignity of the disabled, and passed the Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons in 1990 to ensure better treatment and employment rights.
The new gallery in Beijing aims to further raise the public awareness of the artistic presence of the disabled. In coming months, a selection of its works will tour major cities across China. 
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