Grey Gallery: Touch Objects Experiences

Modtech: Touch Objects for Grey Art Gallery

Two individuals are present in the image, one seated on a couch in a white outfit and the other standing with their left arm extended outward in a purple outfit. 

For this project, we will be identifying specific artifacts within the Grey Art Gallery and creating touch objects/replicas of them. Touch objects can be made with various materials to create a valuable sensory experience for those who have visual impairments, differing cognitive capabilities, or those who’d like to experience the artifact in a new way. We will be utilizing 3-d modeling skills, and an assemblage of other materials to create our replicas. Our group will be meeting weekly to provide updates and explore the most useful ways to ensure an exciting and unique interaction.

The goal of this project is to collaborate with the Grey Art Gallery to make the visitor experience more accessible than it currently is. By iterating through possible ideas on how to best represent their permanent collection of artwork, we would explore various means of representation not limited to only touch. This includes embodied or sensory experiences, tactile graphics, audio, and even interactive forms of conveying the key art pieces of the gallery. All of these additions will also have to fit in with the aesthetic considerations of the gallery space and remain sustainable over long-term exhibition plans. 

team Name

The name of this project is ModTech. This name was created from the words “Model” and “Technology”. During this project, we will be using multiple forms of technology to create accessible representations of the artwork currently at the Grey Art Gallery. ModTech as a name is unique and gives a very direct but subtle idea of the work we will be making during this project. 

GROUP INFORMATION 

  • Group Members:  (Sauda Musharrat*, Auset Brown, and Rashi Chaudhary)
  • Project Mentor(s): Leah Sweet – Head of Education and Programs
  • Meeting times: Mondays at 11:30 am

Meeting Schedule 

OVERVIEW OF SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS 

  • 02/15/23, ModTech made their initial visit to the gallery space to view the artworks and access which pieces would be great candidates for a replica. 
  • 02/16/23 reached an agreement with the visual description team to draw up a proposal to present to Grey Gallery on creating accessible versions of select artwork.
  • 02/28/23, created our first formal proposal with selected artworks and their making process to be shared with Leah and other stakeholders. 
  • 03/13/23, Meet with Leah and the director of the museum, Michelle, to discuss our proposal and come to an agreement on artworks that would best fit in the space. 
  • 03/25/23, The first drafts of our sensory objects were complete and ready for feedback.
  • 04/15/23, Prototypes were ready for display in the Grey Gallery and tested through a large audience.
  • 5/2/23, Presented our final presentation to our group and shared final takeaways.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PROJECT