OPENING OF THE TACTILE EXPOSITION IN THE PERM ART GALLERY

The organization of the tactile exposition became possible due to the victory of the Perm Art Gallery in the competition "Creating tactile copies of museum exhibits" of the "Special View" program of the Alisher Usmanov Charitable Foundation "Art, Science and Sport". “The Foundation has been developing an accessible environment for the blind and visually impaired since 2017. We want all museums to be accessible to those who are deprived of the gift of seeing.

As part of the Un Certain Regard program, we hold grant competitions for the adaptation of works of art, round tables and strive to ensure that the problem has been resolved at the legislative level. More than 40 museums across the country from Vladivostok to Petrozavodsk received tactile models created as part of our activities,” said Ksenia Dmitrieva, head of the Un Certain Regard program.

The exhibition includes 5 tactile copies of paintings by Russian artists from the collection of the Perm Gallery, equipped with labels in Braille:

1. Lampi Johann Baptist. Portrait of Count Alexander Sergeevich Stroganov (1793)
2. Bruni Fedor Antonovich. Virgin and Child (1823)
3. Maksimov Vasily Maksimovich Girl at the Barn (1874)
4. Shishkin Ivan Ivanovich Pine Tops (1895)
5. Popova Lyubov Sergeevna. Portrait (1916)

In addition, the exhibition will feature a stand where you can "see" the artist’s materials: brushes, a palette knife, a palette with colorful strokes, a fragment of a frame and a canvas on a stretcher.

Work on copies began this spring in the workshop of tactile models of Mikhail and Olga Shu. Olga is a professional sculptor, Mikhail is an engineer. Making tactile exhibits is a rather complicated process. First, Olga sculpts the future model from special plasticine, which, after manufacturing, is filled with sculptural silicone. Gypsum, plastic or other material from which the model will be made is poured into the finished silicone mold. Mikhail and Olga cooperate with the largest museums in the country, and we are glad that now our museum will have tactile copies created in their workshop.

The opening of the exposition will be attended by representatives of the community of the blind, a boarding school for children with visual impairments, the Perm Regional Library for the Blind, and Vladimir Plekhov, Acting Director of the Un Certain Regard program.

As part of the opening of the exposition, an excursion and a master class for children with visual impairments will be organized, as well as the presentation of programs for people with visual impairments from Perm museums.

The appearance of a tactile exposition is a long-awaited, but not the only inclusive project of our museum. For several years now, our museum teachers have been implementing programs for different categories of visitors. The projects "Museum of Sensations" and "Touch" are addressed to blind visitors. As part of the Museum of Sensations project, relief-graphic copies of paintings by Russian artists of the 18th-early 19th century were developed. XX centuries, through which we introduce blind and visually impaired people to the genres of painting and specific works. The project "Touch" involves the acquaintance of blind visitors with temporary exhibitions of the Perm Gallery. For this, a variety of tactile material is being prepared, as well as adapted graphic images printed on a special thermal printer. In addition, we have adapted our site for blind users.

FOR REFERENCE

The Art, Science and Sport Charitable Foundation was founded in 2006 by Russian businessman and philanthropist Alisher Usmanov to support socially significant initiatives in the field of culture, education and sports, as well as international projects that strengthen the image of the country.

The Art, Science and Sport Foundation actively participates in the development of inclusion and an accessible environment in the country, including by implementing the Un Certain Regard support program for people with visual impairments, within which it offers people with visual impairments relevant service solutions for self-realization, development and integration into society.