Caitlin Van Ermen
Known for its international contemporary art, the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum attracts crowds every week, but on April 14th 2015, the auditorium was packed and uncommon art was on full display. The Exceptions Journal, an MSU Student Organization, hosted the communities’ first ‘Accessible Art Exhibit’. The museum broke its traditional rules and for one evening, there were not any signs hung saying ‘no touching the art’.
Museums have historically deterred visually impaired people from exploring rooms of masterpieces and connecting with the artistic culture . The Accessible Art Exhibit became an outlet for all visitors to run their hands through a collection of textured materials and listen to a corresponding poem.
Pictured above: Broad Art Museum visitors explored the intricate works of art.
MSU student artists unified to connect intricate and touchable artwork with an original poem.
Stefanie Haapala, MSU Student and author of ‘Blister’ said, “As an artist, I want to tell stories. And stories are meant to be shared. Art as a concept has no limitations, so why should the physical shift of words from artist to audience? Working with the RCPD and Exceptions Journal allowed us to break down a completely moveable wall between art and all members of the community.”
Pictured above: The displays of art intrigued the Accessible Art Exhibit guests.
Several community and campus partnerships were instrumental in the success of the first Accessible Art Exhibit. MSU faculty showed their support for this event and encouraged students like Haapala to submit literature. Then, other artistic students expressed those written words through tactile artwork. The Exceptions Journal partnered with the Broad Art Museum to allow a new platform to showcase art to an unfamiliar audience.
An Exceptions Journal committee member and former Tower Guard participant, Zach Reilly, stated, “At Exceptions, we believe that the arts and humanities can and should be experienced by all people, regardless of where they lie on the visual spectrum. We created the event to show that museums can showcase art in unique ways to improve accessibility and enrich the experience for all people.”
Take a look at the video that the Exceptions Journal created to capture the success of the event.
Pictured left: The Exceptions Journal committee gathered at the event. Pictured right: Visitors ran their hands across Spartan creations.
The Exceptions Journal involved the help of another campus partnership, the RCPD. The Blindness/Visual Impairment and Media Access Specialist, Angela Sebald expressed, “The Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities was happy to collaborate with Exceptions Journal and Broad Art Museum in making the Exceptions Art Event accessible. Our office made packets with the poems in both braille and large print. We also created QR codes, which we put on each of the tables, so viewers could listen to the poems in an audio recording.”
Pictured Left: RCPD Specialist, Angela Sebald was interviewed about her participation. Pictured Right: East Lansing community members felt one student’s artwork.
Individuals drove from out of town to experience one example of how partnerships at Michigan State continue to strive to reach full participation of our community. The RCPD is eager to team up with people, like the Exceptions team, to extend RCPD’s mission of ability and opportunity.