Art Beyond Sight Awareness Month:

October 2009
Alert V

Elisabeth Axel and the rest of us here at Art Education for the Blind hope you have all had a wonderful Art Beyond Sight Awareness Month.

We want to share with you a recent Newsweek Web exclusive article, titled “Blind Spot,” focused on access to museums (link to the article below). The conference call cited in the piece was our annual Art Beyond Sight Awareness Month Telephone Conference Crash Course, which was held on October 19, the Monday following the Art Beyond Sight Multimodal Approaches to Learning Conference that Art Education for the Blind and The Metropolitan Museum of Art cosponsored and hosted (at the Met) on October 16-18.

To encourage more coverage of the need for and benefits of access to the arts to continue, please post comments where indicated on the Newsweek website (just below Jesse Ellison’s byline); note, for comments to be posted on the site, you must sign in. Here’s the article link: http://www.newsweek.com/id/219112

KUDOS TO…

  • “Art Beyond Bounds”

    The Utah State Library partnered with the Utah Department of Community and Culture, Utah State History Utah Arts and Museums, Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Art Access and Kindred Spirits in implementing “Art Beyond Bounds” an exhibit of artworks by the blind and disabled. Utah’s First Lady Jeanette Herbert and more than 70 blind or disabled artists kicked off the event on Friday, October 16, 2009, and some 300 people attended the opening reception.

    “This is very exciting because it’s the first time there has been a venue for local artists with various visual and physical disabilities to show their work,” says artist Kathy Lott. “I lost my sight 22 years ago, was very depressed, but learned I don’t need to see one hundred percent to do my art!”

    On display at the Rio Grande Depot Mezzanine Gallery, 300 South Rio Grande Street, the exhibit runs through January 4, 2010. Hours: Monday – Thursday 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

  • NY Yankees … for Outreach to People with Disabilities

    The New York Yankees were among groups recently honored by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) Commissioner Matthew Sapolin for having made significant contributions to increasing accessibility for people with disabilities. The team has a full-time ADA Director, Carol Laurenzano; has greeters in the new stadium’s lobby that is available to assist people with special needs; is working with Vision Services’ intern program; and has Commissioner Sapolin on NYC’s Employment Mentorship Month in October.

    Let’s hope that not many other public spaces follow the example of the Yankees, and the excellent examples of so many museums around the world, and reach out to the growing population of people with disabilities.

THE STEP-HEAR™ SYSTEM AND THE ART OF NAVIGATION

This new technology has possibilities for museums.
The step hear system Here’s how it works: Based on Radio Frequency (RF) technology, The Step-Hear™ system is comprised of two units: a transmitter/base and a small receiver/activator. Once installed, the base sends out a continuous signal. When the activator, held by the user, is within the range of the base, it vibrates and beeps. Pressing a button on the activator triggers a pre-recorded voice message from the base, which provides information that helps oriented users toward their destination.

The step hear arm device The recorded messages of the base units are easily changed, and the units are easy to install indoors and out. In fact, the company recently released a new weather-resistant outdoor unit with the possibility of automatically increasing the playback volume according to the ambience noise.

Step-Hear is already in use in municipal buildings, universities, rehabilitations center, ATM machines and shopping malls - and there are pilots in motion to test the product on transportation systems. According to its creators, Marcel Grossman and Moshe Kilim, the system has a promising future in the world of museums and art exhibitions.

The step hear receiver device For more information on this product, visit the company’s website: www.step-hear.com, or write to the developers at info@step-hear.com