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art education for the blind
Three blind adults with escorts walk through a museum gallery
A group of blind teenagers in wheelchairs move through another gallery
accompanied by escorts. Touch tours and other tactile experiences are primary
ways for blind people to acquire information and access a work of art.
Here are a few examples.
Hands wearing clear plastic gloves touch a thin bronze sculpture of a dog by Giacometti.
A touch tour is most often guided by a docent or trained volunteer and the tour
can include touching original works of art.
A blind man with a cane walks through a museum gallery. Then,
the man touches an ancient egyptian sculpture of a sphinx.
Some museums create self-guided tours so that blind visitors can explore art on their own.
Close-up of hands touching a brown African mask, then
close-ups of hands holding small models of chairs and a vase sculpture.
Another way to use touch is to have visitors handle replicas,models, props
or other objects that convey some aspect about an original work that cannot
be touched or is too large too handle.
This use of touch can stimulate the imagination
and help visitors complete their mental image of a work of art.