For a Tactile Approach to Photography
Convinced that access to art is a fundamental right, Photo Elysée has created an innovative project aimed at making photography accessible to visually impaired audiences. Around thirty important works from the Museum’s collections have been transcribed into tactile images and posted online, making them accessible to audiences worldwide.
Entitled Art for All: Photographs to Touch and designed with the invaluable collaboration of the Centre pédagogique pour élèves handicapés de la vue (CPHV) in Lausanne, this project offers a sensory approach to the image through the fingers instead of the eyes, thanks to a transformation of the photographic image making its different forms, subjects and contrasts palpable - and thus readable.
Wishing to offer inclusive activities fostering dialogue and sharing, Photo Elysée conceived this kit as a tool that can be used with complete autonomy, by two people or more. It aims to enhance cooperation and dialogue between visually impaired and sighted people, allowing them to discover photography and its heritage together.
This autonomous activity begins with the reading of the text, introducing the artwork. It details the composition of the image and places the photograph in its historical, technical and aesthetic context. Then, the analysis of the tactile image starts. Along with its legend in braille, the duo decrypts the various elements of the artwork.
