I recently became blind and I live near DC so I spent a Tonna time in museums. Sadly most layouts are not standard traditional layout so it might be very hard for a blind person to navigate them for example the art museum here in DC is kind of set up like an IKEA where you come in in one way and go out another way but it’s almost never the same way so it would be super hard just to navigate on your own. I mention this because I know for a fact the sensors are extremely sensitive on these paintings in fact I’ve seen a kid run up the wall and set off the alarm because he just ran up really hard and put his hands on the wall. They would have to create some sort of boundary so we can use our canes on the floor and not get anywhere near the walls, kind of like a small curve around the sensitive artwork and displays.

Once we figure that out we would need an app or something that can read a QR code or a barcode near the piece of art or display. This will bring up a narrator that will give you a general description of the artist the time. It was created and a good overview of the piece of art including style texture color palette etc. etc.. if the user decides he can get more information about the artist the time. Or just generally more pieces of art just like this one. And also in order not to disturb others you would need to use headphones in order to use the app because sadly we all know Karen’s going to be blasting her voice over description of the painting while others are trying to enjoy artwork in the same room. And I know it would be a huge undertaking but if this app could work across multiple museums that would be amazing. These things could be done way easier if the museum is built with accessibility in mind from the start.

Damn I miss going to museums but you could always have a good friend take you and give you a tour that way.

Well, the Louvre in Paris has a room of miniatures of their sculptures, specifically designed to be tactile for the blind. The sculptures are miniaturised and replicated because most of the time sculptures are too tall, or on pedestals, so that makes getting a big picture awkward.

I have a hunch that for paintings, one could model them out on a canvas, maybe with lines of glue gun, or maybe cross stitch (my friend an artist made me a Braille code in cross stitch)