If there’s one thing we all know about art museums, it’s that you’re not supposed to touch the paintings. But what about visitors who aren't able to see the art?
Learning about art’s meaning and history isn’t just for people who can see it. With the help of audio descriptions and guided tours, many visually impaired guests can interact with the art in museums, but there is still a long way to go to improve the experience.
To that end, the Georgia Museum of Art has joined other museums in the mission to improve museum accessibility. Mallory Lind, associate curator of education, made small, tactile replicas of several paintings in the museum that allow guests to interact with art in a different way. Being able to feel where the grass ends and the sky starts through these new touchable replicas provides a very different experience than description of a work of art. Lind focused on paintings that were often featured in tours as well as one on loan from the Terra Foundation for American Art, which funded the project.
So far, the use of these tactile replicas has proven useful not only for the visually impaired, but also to help younger museum patrons form a more meaningful understanding and connection with art in our educational programming. While there may still be a long way to go to increase and improve museums’ accessibility, the Georgia Museum of Art is committed to improving and innovating and patrons can look forward to more replicas in the near future.