Open Forum

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

That is a wonderful initiative. I wanted to share that when I was Secretary of Cultural Affairs in New Mexico, we created an exhibit entitled "touching beauty".  This exhibition, which serves as a touchable art museum is permanently installed in the Bataan Memorial Building in Santa Fe, the former State Capitol.

The exhibit consists of a group of bronze sculptures by the artist Michael Naranjo, a Native American sculptor who lost his site in battle in VIetnam.  It is a most compelling exhibit which includes photographs of the artist at various stages of his career.

You can Google Michael Naranjo and see some of his powerful works.

------------------------------
Stuart Ashman
President & CEO
Museum of Latin American Art
Long Beach CA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2015 07:22 PM
From: Shirley Confino-Rehder
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

Shirley and others interested in this topic: Check out the upcoming ICOM-Committee for Education and Cultural Action (CECA) conference in Washington, DC. "Museum Education and Accessibility: Bridging the Gaps" (September 17-21). The last time that a CECA conference  was organized in the USA was in 1982, so this is a unique opportunity to meet all the CECA community and share approaches to accessibility in museums.

------------------------------

Ellen Giusti
Independent Consultant
New York NY
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2015 07:22 PM
From: Shirley Confino-Rehder
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

For those interested, I have been producing an exhibit for science and natural history museums which features numerous objects intended for tactile (as well as visual) examination by visitors.  The techniques I'm using could easily be applied outside of the biological/natural history realm to have applications in cultural history or art museum settings.

     Michael

------------------------------
Michael Holland
Principal/Owner
Michael Holland Productions
Bozeman MT
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2015 07:22 PM
From: Shirley Confino-Rehder
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

This is so great to hear. We always offer tours of our collection and special exhibitions to people who are blind or have low vision. Visitors access the work in various ways, with a tour guide, sometimes exploring sculpture through touch, sometimes with description and various tactile materials, depending on the art and the visitor.  Since we are getting the DaVinci/Michelangelo exhibit next, I wonder if you would share your tactile materials? Years ago, we had an exhibit here at the MFA, "African Gold", and we shared our tactile materials with the Smithsonian's African Art Museum when they had the show, saving duplication of effort. I have always wanted to do this again, but haven't had the opportunity. Of course, the African Art Museum returned the materials when they were done. Let me know if you are interested.

Wouldn't it be amazing if something like this became part of traveling exhibitions?

------------------------------
Hannah Goodwin
Manager of Accessibility
Museum of Fine Arts
Boston MA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2015 07:22 PM
From: Shirley Confino-Rehder
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

This is so great to hear. We always offer tours of our collection and special exhibitions to people who are blind or have low vision. Visitors access the work in various ways, with a tour guide, sometimes exploring sculpture through touch, sometimes with description and various tactile materials, depending on the art and the visitor.  Since we are getting the DaVinci/Michelangelo exhibit next, I wonder if you would share your tactile materials? Years ago, we had an exhibit here at the MFA, "African Gold", and we shared our tactile materials with the Smithsonian's African Art Museum when they had the show, saving duplication of effort. I have always wanted to do this again, but haven't had the opportunity. Of course, the African Art Museum returned the materials when they were done. Let me know if you are interested.

Wouldn't it be amazing if something like this became part of traveling exhibitions?

------------------------------
Hannah Goodwin
Manager of Accessibility
Museum of Fine Arts
Boston MA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2015 07:22 PM
From: Shirley Confino-Rehder
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

This is so great to hear. We always offer tours of our collection and special exhibitions to people who are blind or have low vision. Visitors access the work in various ways, with a tour guide, sometimes exploring sculpture through touch, sometimes with description and various tactile materials, depending on the art and the visitor.  Since we are getting the DaVinci/Michelangelo exhibit next, I wonder if you would share your tactile materials? Years ago, we had an exhibit here at the MFA, "African Gold", and we shared our tactile materials with the Smithsonian's African Art Museum when they had the show, saving duplication of effort. I have always wanted to do this again, but haven't had the opportunity. Of course, the African Art Museum returned the materials when they were done. Let me know if you are interested.

Wouldn't it be amazing if something like this became part of traveling exhibitions?

------------------------------
Hannah Goodwin
Manager of Accessibility
Museum of Fine Arts
Boston MA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2015 07:22 PM
From: Shirley Confino-Rehder
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

This is so great to hear. We always offer tours of our collection and special exhibitions to people who are blind or have low vision. Visitors access the work in various ways, with a tour guide, sometimes exploring sculpture through touch, sometimes with description and various tactile materials, depending on the art and the visitor.  Since we are getting the DaVinci/Michelangelo exhibit next, I wonder if you would share your tactile materials? Years ago, we had an exhibit here at the MFA, "African Gold", and we shared our tactile materials with the Smithsonian's African Art Museum when they had the show, saving duplication of effort. I have always wanted to do this again, but haven't had the opportunity. Of course, the African Art Museum returned the materials when they were done. Let me know if you are interested.

Wouldn't it be amazing if something like this became part of traveling exhibitions?

------------------------------
Hannah Goodwin
Manager of Accessibility
Museum of Fine Arts
Boston MA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2015 07:22 PM
From: Shirley Confino-Rehder
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

Thank you so much. Someday someone will invent a tactile library with materials that are free and open to all. Kind of like talking books....

Great to hear all the positive response on this. I want to put in a plug for Museums not waiting for the opportunity to do something on the scale of El Prado. It is actually not very difficult to provide tours for all kinds of artwork to visitors who are blind or have low vision, and it need not be costly. I also want to put in a plug for access for people who are blind to everything in a museum.

 Thanks for your great work, Shirley, and for opening the conversation.

------------------------------
Hannah Goodwin
Manager of Accessibility
Museum of Fine Arts
Boston MA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-09-2015 07:08 AM
From: Shirley Confino-Rehder
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

Hannah, I've sent you email of images made and PP images of original drawings.  Wish we could have them all to share for a Tactile Library - both for our museums and outreach programs. 

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-07-2015 04:19 PM
From: Hannah Goodwin
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

This is so great to hear. We always offer tours of our collection and special exhibitions to people who are blind or have low vision. Visitors access the work in various ways, with a tour guide, sometimes exploring sculpture through touch, sometimes with description and various tactile materials, depending on the art and the visitor.  Since we are getting the DaVinci/Michelangelo exhibit next, I wonder if you would share your tactile materials? Years ago, we had an exhibit here at the MFA, "African Gold", and we shared our tactile materials with the Smithsonian's African Art Museum when they had the show, saving duplication of effort. I have always wanted to do this again, but haven't had the opportunity. Of course, the African Art Museum returned the materials when they were done. Let me know if you are interested.

Wouldn't it be amazing if something like this became part of traveling exhibitions?

------------------------------
Hannah Goodwin
Manager of Accessibility
Museum of Fine Arts
Boston MA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2015 07:22 PM
From: Shirley Confino-Rehder
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

Since there were some really great examples included in this thread, I've created a Word document to list them. If anyone joins the conversation and includes additional examples, I'll update this document.

Enjoy!

------------------------------
Cecelia Walls
Information Center Manager
American Alliance of Museums
Washington DC
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2015 07:22 PM
From: Shirley Confino-Rehder
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto has some great accessible programmes.  Their "Multi-sensory Tours" (http://www.ago.net/tactile-tours-a-new-way-of-seeing) are for low vision/blind visitors.  If you follow the link to the tactile tours you will see a photograph of a man touching a Rodin bronze.  I heard him speak at a conference once - he has been blind since birth & this was the first time he felt that he experienced art.  The AGO's "Art in the Moment Tours" are for people with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia and their care-givers and, finally, their "ASL Interpreted Tours" are for visitors who are deaf or have hearing loss and are given in American Sign Language.

------------------------------
Susan Maltby
Conservator
Toronto ON
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 05-14-2015 02:12 PM
From: Cecelia Walls
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

Since there were some really great examples included in this thread, I've created a Word document to list them. If anyone joins the conversation and includes additional examples, I'll update this document.

Enjoy!

------------------------------
Cecelia Walls
Information Center Manager
American Alliance of Museums
Washington DC
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2015 07:22 PM
From: Shirley Confino-Rehder
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto has some great accessible programmes.  Their "Multi-sensory Tours" (http://www.ago.net/tactile-tours-a-new-way-of-seeing) are for low vision/blind visitors.  If you follow the link to the tactile tours you will see a photograph of a man touching a Rodin bronze.  I heard him speak at a conference once - he has been blind since birth & this was the first time he felt that he experienced art.  The AGO's "Art in the Moment Tours" are for people with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia and their care-givers and, finally, their "ASL Interpreted Tours" are for visitors who are deaf or have hearing loss and are given in American Sign Language.

------------------------------
Susan Maltby
Conservator
Toronto ON
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 05-14-2015 02:12 PM
From: Cecelia Walls
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

Since there were some really great examples included in this thread, I've created a Word document to list them. If anyone joins the conversation and includes additional examples, I'll update this document.

Enjoy!

------------------------------
Cecelia Walls
Information Center Manager
American Alliance of Museums
Washington DC
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2015 07:22 PM
From: Shirley Confino-Rehder
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

Since there were some really great examples included in this thread, I've created a Word document to list them. If anyone joins the conversation and includes additional examples, I'll update this document.

Enjoy!

------------------------------
Cecelia Walls
Information Center Manager
American Alliance of Museums
Washington DC
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2015 07:22 PM
From: Shirley Confino-Rehder
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

I was interested to read the thread of information about accessibility. I am interested in expanding this to history museums. In several exhibitions I co-curated at the New-York Historical Society, I had tactiles fabricated of some of the three dimensional pieces and additional pieces that helped with interpretation. Is anyone working in history museums who has tried this? At the moment it seems like art museums are on the forefront of using the available technology. I hope history museums can join them. It's not that expensive and it brings more people in the door.

------------------------------
Lynda Kaplan
Brooklyn NY
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2015 07:22 PM
From: Shirley Confino-Rehder
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------

This is such a great conversation to have. It is so great to learn from each other. I think it is really important to remember that there is no one solution that will work for everyone, and also that touch is such a wildly different sense than vision that to really be an effective experience the people leading the tours or designing the materials need to understand the differences, and the good qualities of each. And that not everyone who is blind likes to touch. A multi-pronged approach can make a big difference, and also if each institution looks at what they have already, sometimes it is only a small step to making what you are doing really accessible. There are some really innovative approaches in some smaller museums and historic houses that are just brilliant.

------------------------------
Hannah Goodwin
Manager of Accessibility
Museum of Fine Arts
Boston MA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 05-18-2015 03:18 PM
From: Lynda Kaplan
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

I was interested to read the thread of information about accessibility. I am interested in expanding this to history museums. In several exhibitions I co-curated at the New-York Historical Society, I had tactiles fabricated of some of the three dimensional pieces and additional pieces that helped with interpretation. Is anyone working in history museums who has tried this? At the moment it seems like art museums are on the forefront of using the available technology. I hope history museums can join them. It's not that expensive and it brings more people in the door.

------------------------------
Lynda Kaplan
Brooklyn NY
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2015 07:22 PM
From: Shirley Confino-Rehder
Subject: Tactile Tours for including persons who are blind or have low vision

The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA just completed an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. It will next be going  to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and then home to Italy.

As a docent at the Muscarelle I was able to create a tactile tour of the exhibit.  Using an easy copying technique, I copied ten of the thirty drawings of the exhibit from slides that were sent to the docents via email. I then sent the copies to Tactile Vision Graphics in Ottawa who does thermal tactile printing. Using research I usually do for my tours, I was able to successfully give tours to adults and high school students who are blind or have low vision.

Each student had never been in an art museum before. Some of the older visitors had traveled, some had not. The new visitors were all thrilled, learned about the two artists, the drawings that were on exhibit and the techniques that were used.

The visitors that were in the galleries, stopped, listened and understood what we were doing and learned something new as well.

This not only addresses the ADA Title III, for effective communications in museum programs, it also creates a new audience.  I will be glad to send you all some photos. Inexpensive to do, you too can offer tours for the blind/or low vision.

------------------------------
Shirley Confino-Rehder
Docent
------------------------------