[TAGS] Tactile art and COVID-19

[Cheryl Fogle-Hatch]

Hi Mike, Keri, and everyone

An exhibit on universal design that I'm consulting for was postponed,
and several Maryland museums have suspended public programs through
mid April.  I've been watching traffic on museum listservs, and so
far, I haven't seen anything specific to tactile art--just general
concerns about limiting hand-to-hand contact. I think we, as a
community of tactile artists etc, need to step into the conversation
so our voices are found when someone searches, as you did.

To that end, I'm thinking of writing a text (800-1,000 word blog post
linking to supporting documents if necessary).  This would discuss the
need to balance tactile access with health concerns--covid19, and for
anything else that will arise in future. I would offer to host a piece
on my new website, https://museumsenses.org and I might also explore
possibilities with my connections to get onto an established museum
blog.

Keeping in mind that this listserv is publicly archived and
searchable, please write me offlist if you'd like to contribute ideas
and resources, and/or review a draft.  To join a timely conversation,
I'd like to get a post online around mid April as museums resume
public programming. The post should serve as a conversation starter
and propose solutions, and show that that the community of tactile
artists and enthusiasts are thinking about these issues.

Best Wishes,
Cheryl

On 3/12/20, Mike Kolitsky via TAGS <tags at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi everyone, I just received news that an art show in NYC to which I had
> some tactile art works accepted for entry was delayed due to the COVID-19
> pandemic and the need to think about bringing large groups of people
> together.  That led to my thinking about how one can make tactile art so
> that it can be touched safely, i.e., that each touch is on a sterile or
> cleaned surface.  Can tactile art be sprayed with a lysol-like cleanser
> between touching episodes or can art be designed to be touched with surgical
> gloves?  Can Braille be read with surgical gloves on the reader's hands?  I
> did a quick search on "tactile art and COVID-19" and found that the
> Exploratorium in San Francisco has temporarily closed the "Tactile Dome".
> Any thoughts about how to make art or objects for public touching safe from
> passage of COVID-19 from one person to another?
>
> Mike
>
> Michael A. Kolitsky, Ph.D.
> CEO
> nextgenEmedia
>


-- 
Cheryl Fogle-Hatch, Ph.D.
Archaeologist and Museum Professional
(443) 939-8217
c.k.fogle at gmail.com
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/cheryl-fogle-hatch/8/224/538
https://cherylfogle.academia.edu/