At most art exhibitions, visitors are told not to touch. At Northern Kentucky University’s newest exhibition, touching the art is the point.
NKU and Clovernook Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired have partnered to present “Tactile Revolutions: An Exhibit of Art Meant to be Touched,” an interactive exhibition designed to make art more accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired.
The exhibition features Braille, tactile design, 3D models and accessible artwork that visitors are encouraged to explore through touch. It includes work by Clovernook Center and pieces created by NKU students through the university’s Build a Better Book course.
“Tactile Revolutions asks visitors to rethink what an art exhibition can be and who gets to experience it,” said Paige Wideman, NKU’s director of galleries and outreach. “Touching the artwork is not only permitted, it is essential to the experience. This exhibition creates new ways for people who are blind or visually impaired to engage with art while encouraging every visitor to experience creativity from a different perspective.”
The exhibition grew from NKU’s ongoing partnership with Clovernook. After learning about the accessible materials students were creating through Build a Better Book, Wideman visited Clovernook Center and began working with the organization to develop an exhibition showcasing both Clovernook Center’s work and the students’ creations.
For NKU students, the partnership provides an opportunity to apply what they learn in the classroom to projects created for a real audience. Students must consider how texture, shape, scale, Braille and other design elements communicate information through touch and how their creative decisions can either expand or limit access.
“Accessible design is most effective when it is part of the creative process from the beginning,” said Samuel Foulkes, director of Braille production and accessible innovation at Clovernook Center. “This exhibition shows how artists and designers can create meaningful experiences that include people who are blind or visually impaired. We hope visitors will touch the work, explore it and leave with a broader understanding of how art can be experienced.”
“Tactile Revolutions” is on display through Sept. 17 in NKU’s Main Gallery and Third Floor Gallery, located in the NKU Fine Arts Center. The galleries are open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
