Seeing through touch — Museums at Fingertips promotes “touch art” with audio description

It is common to find “do not touch” signs at museums, but “Museums at Fingertips” (MaF), a social innovation project, encourages visitors to touch the artworks — transforming collections from various museums around the world into 3D-Print Touch Art Models via 3D printing technology, which can replicate the texture of specific materials, from the smoothness of marble to the roughness of granite, even the brushstrokes of oil paintings, and parts of a sculpture can be singled out.

For general visitors, these models allow them to get a better understanding of the works, while for the visually impaired, to appreciate and experience art at first hand. Engaged in audio description services, Liz, the founder of the social enterprise, noticed that accessibility for the visually impaired is limited at museums. “Many are interested in art and heritage, but do not know where to start, and there is not enough venue support or opportunity for them to receive related information.” 

Visually impaired persons see the world through touch, making art replicas for them seems straightforward, but there are many details to be considered, from the size of the model to the durability of the material, so that they can explore and feel the features of the artwork with their fingertips. Liz explained that our eyes can change focus according to distance; to achieve this with a model and give them the whole picture, some of the features have to be enlarged and made into separate models, alongside the original one.

In the quest for funding, Liz faced lots of obstacles and was once disheartened. “I am very grateful that MakerBay gave me a chance, which boosted my morale. The judges’ queries also led to deeper thinking from different perspectives.” During the training, she got to meet like-minded peers as a solopreneur. “It turns out I am not alone, different projects may face the same problems, we all had our failures, and learnt to play it by ear. The project consultation provided by MakerBay also helps us to take a step forward and be better.” 

The outcome of MaF shows the demand and value of 3D-Print Touch Art Models, as Liz was able to provide outreach services to Ebenezer School, Ebenezer Care and Attention Home, and other organisations, teaching art with the models and audio description. The models include the Egyptian collection of the British Museum, The Little Mermaid bronze statue from the National Museum of Denmark, and marble sculptures from the Thorvaldsens Museum. Not only did MaF receive Seed Funding from The Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund as one of the incubatees, but also another technology incubation funding recommended by MakerBay. In the future, it will expand its market with human resources training programmes and art-tech products, hoping to create more resources for the social enterprise and heighten public awareness of inclusion and diversity.

Related Articles

Design Thinking in Action: Planning Curriculums to Equip Future-Ready Generation and Transform Teaching

Design thinking is gaining momentum across various sectors as a methodology emphasising problem-solving through empathy and innovation. How did we collaborate with schools to integrate design thinking into their curriculums and enhance students’ diverse skill sets? Let’s explore some concrete examples of how design thinking is applied in practice.

Responses

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Ms. Angie Zhou

Education Specialist

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Angie Zhou is an Education Specialist at MIT App Inventor. She was the founder and CEO of Dreams Come True in Shenzhen, where she developed online coding courses for kids. She also has previous curriculum development, teaching and staff training experience at First Code Academy in Hong Kong.