Making Art More Accessible

Students in Lehigh's 3D Design Foundations classes have joined with Lehigh University Art Galleries (LUAG) to make art more accessible to those with vision loss and other disabilities.

As part of LUAG's Accessible Art Project, in recognition of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the students created 3-D, touchable representations of select artworks currently on display in LUAG's ...Of the Americas and Object As Subject exhibits. The select works also carry an audio description or recorded educational guide to allow for alternate ways to experience the art.

The project got under way a year ago, when LUAG reached out to Brian Slocum, managing director of Lehigh's Design Labs and Wilbur Powerhouse Prototyping Lab, for help in creating the 3-D representations. Slocum saw the project as giving students in his 3D Design Foundations class an opportunity to put what they learned into practice. It also allowed them to have an impact on someone's art experience.

The Accessible Art Project required students to approach design in a unique way—keeping the sense of touch in mind first, rather than the sense of sight. Over last summer, students completed four 3-D representations of works, and over the Fall 2015 semester, 10 students created 3-D representations.