[accessibleimage] Affordable Art Exhibition, Hospital, I-Map, artist, photography

Hi,
Mixed links, art, hospital, photography and universal design. A couple of links to articles about the Affordable Art Exhibition. One of the links has a video with a commentary of Sheri Khayami - Founder, Blindart Charity.
Best,
Lisa


Links
i-map

http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=4652

japan,hospital,ud

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/scene/20060318TDY12001.htm


article

Palladium-Item, Indiana

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Artist, work on display: Joyce Wittenauer-Acton

By Katie Wedell

Disability groups around Richmond are celebrating Disability Awareness Month throughout March.

The Independent Living Center plays host to Richmond artist Joyce Wittenauer-Acton on Tuesday. Wittenauer-Acton is legally blind and learned to paint through an Independent Living program in Florida.

In addition to her demonstration, her work will be on display at The Independent Living Center throughout March. Office hours for the center are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

One of Wittenaurer-Acton's original works that will be on display has been donated to the center for a silent auction. Bids may be placed through the end of March. The winning bid will be announced April 3.

In addition to the artist and her exhibit, Student Support Services at Indiana University East will celebrate Disability Awareness Week throughout next week. There will be videos, games, prizes and vendors in the lobby of Whitewater Hall all week long.


http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060323/NEWS01/603230319/1008

article

(excerpt)

Though legally blind and able to see only muted colors, light and shadow, George nonetheless has shot many photos of this rugged area. (A friend may go with him to Mount Hancock, but "I could climb alone if I really had to," he says. "I know it that well.")

For George to see his own photos, he has to enlarge each image and greatly increase the contrast on his computer. "Most people see to photograph," he says. "I photograph in order to see."

He developed this technique and has taught workshops on it from Harlem to Seoul and at the Smithsonian Institution.

"If a visually impaired person has some light perception, this opens up a new visual world to them they never thought they'd enjoy," he says.

George served in the White House as a special assistant on disability matters and wrote a book about photography. He moved to Alpine from the East Coast eight years ago and loves the simplicity of life, the friendliness of the people and the climate.

"I tell my friends back East how incredibly beautiful the Big Bend region is, send them photos and enjoy taunting them when they have blizzards," he says. "Yet, some still say, 'You're nuts to live out there at the end of the Earth!' But my photographs speak for themselves. No one can look upon a print of a mountain sunset and not see something special."

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:hKSS2mIVhaoJ:www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/jpronk/stories/031906dntrapronk.298fd346.html+%22George+served+in+the+White+House+as+a+special+assistant+on+disability+matters%22+&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2

article

i-Map, the award winning arts resource for visually impaired people, has been updated to provide visitors with audio and new interactive content. Available at Tate Online (www.tate.org.uk/imap), i-Map is aimed at blind and partially sighted people with a general interest in art as well as art teachers and their visually impaired pupils.

The site originally launched in 2002 when it became the UK’s first online art resource for visually impaired people. Since then, it has received widespread recognition including winning a BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Award for Accessibility in 2002, being short-listed for the Visionary Design Awards in 2002, and receiving a special commendation at the Jodi Mattes Awards 2003.

Working in conjunction with BT, Tate Online has extended the original site with an additional section called The Everyday Transformed which explores the works of six twentieth century artists – Giorgio de Chirico, Fernand Leger, Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, Natalya Goncharova, Patrick Caulfield and Francis Picabia. The original resource, which focused on the works of Matisse and Picasso is also still available.

An integral aspect of the BT facilitated i-Map is raised drawings. Used in conjunction with the text-only facility on the website, the drawings bring to life the visual elements of the art works for those people who have no useful sight. They can be accessed from the raised images on the website and can be ordered from the RNIB Raised Images Service.

Commenting on the initiative, Caro Howell, former Curator for Special Projects at Tate Modern, said: ‘i-Map aims to provide a tailor made resource for visually impaired people to engage with the ideas and debates of modern art. Approximately two million people in the UK have difficulty seeing and Tate believes that this should not prevent them from enjoying art.’

Tate Online, is the UK’s No 1 art website, regularly attracting over 800,000 visitors a month. Through the provision of cutting edge online technology, BT has worked with Tate to make art accessible for everyone and the recent additions to i-Map demonstrate this rationale. In the past two years, Tate Online has won two BAFTA interactive entertainment awards for online content. Visitor figures continue to grow and the online gallery attracted over 7 million unique visitors in 2005.

Related links to this article:

Tate

www.tate.org.uk/imap

article

Making hospitals easier to navigate

Takashi Koyama / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

An increasing number of medical institutions are not only applying the concept of universal design to their facilities, but are also asking patients for their opinions and making improvements after their initial completion.

Universal design is an approach to designing facilities, products, services and environments to ensure they can be used or enjoyed by as many people as possible, regardless of their physical condition, age, gender or culture.

Inouye Eye Hospital in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, has adopted this approach for its new outpatient unit, the Ochanomizu Inouye Eye Clinic, on the 18th-20th floors of a neighboring building in January. The UD outpatient clinic has a floor space of 2,827 square meters. Patients are positive about the design. One patient said, "The floor is bright so I can walk around without worrying." Another said, "I was able to get to the doctor's examination room without getting lost."

About 1,000 patients from across the nation visit the hospital each day, but the 25-year-old building with 34 beds used to have a bad reputation. Every time a new examination room was added, new signs had to be put up, which confused many patients. Signs hung from the ceiling were hard to see for glaucoma patients who have limited vision. Some patients would even ask the way to the restroom without realizing they were standing right in front of it.

"Even though many people here have problems with their vision, these people were not taken into consideration when the hospital was designed," reflected clinic Director Kenji Inoue.

He decided to canvass patients' opinions about how the floor guide of the new clinic should be designed. About 100 patients and 200 staff members participated in a survey on what a patient-friendly floor guide should be like.

The hospital came up with three floor map alternatives, but was surprised by the one that functioned best. The hospital tested out the three maps and checked how long patients took to find the waiting room using each one. The average time was shortest when the patients simply had a map with only the lounge marked.

Based on its survey, the hospital came up with the size, design and symbols its signs should have so that they would be easy to look at and easy to understand for patients.

The latest UD techniques are used as well. The hospital decided not to use tactile guideways--as commonly seen at stations in the form of yellow strips with raised bumps or ridges. This was because elderly people sometimes stumble on them. Instead they opted for vinyl tiles for guidance so that patients can sense a difference in touch and sound with a cane or stick.

Also, the seats in the waiting room are sloped at the back to provide people sitting in the next row a support they can use when they stand up.

"UD is meaningless unless patients are happy. So we intend to continue evaluating how to ensure this," Inoue said.

According to architect and UD expert Yoshihiko Kawauchi, the approach of continuing the testing and evaluation of completed facilities by monitoring users' opinions is called the "spiral-up approach." The approach has been gaining attention in the past couple of years.

"If you apply the spiral-up approach, you don't have to be a genius to make things with a good design," Kawauchi says.

A welfare facility in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, is another example of the spiral-up approach. The city government and architects discussed with 1,031 elderly people and welfare organization group members the design last year of a multipurpose welfare facility scheduled to open next year.

In response to the citizens' opinions, the architect reduced the number of walls so that disabled people and elderly people could better see one another's activities. Also, the corridors were made as straight as possible because visually impaired respondents said it was hard for them to follow corridors that zigzag.

The width of the hallways was originally set at 1.8 meters--a space legally wide enough for two wheelchairs to pass each other--but was expanded by another 50 centimeters so the walls could be used as an art space.

"It took time, but citizens have come to view the facility as their own," city government official Kazuyoshi Aiso said. "If we find something wrong with the design, we'll continue modifying it."

The need for continual adaptation beyond the completion of facilities was emphasized by Toyo University Prof. Gihei Takahashi, who took part in designing the center. "The creation process is important for UD, but the improvements made after completion are just as much important," he said.

(Mar. 18, 2006)


article

http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2006/02/27/33728.html

(excerpt)

The Biennial will also have a Program of Social Responsability, where workshops for children and also for blind children and adults are already being scheduled. There is also a research and induction related project for the Rescue of the Textiles in Costa Rica being done.


article

BlindArt “Charity of Spring” @ The Affordable Art Fair

“First time in history a registered blind artist has opened a major Contemporary Art Fair” Sheri Khayami

This spring, the Affordable Art Fair (AAF), one of London’s most prestigious annual art events, has chosen BlindArt to be its charity of the year.

We are delighted by AAF’s support for BlindArt and our cause of making the visual arts accessible to everyone, including those with visual and other sensory impairments.

Gary Sargeant, BlindArt’s patron and a registered blind artist, will open the fair on the Charity Private View Evening on 15th March 2006 from 5.30 to 9.30pm. This is by all means the first time in history a registered blind artist has opened a major Contemporary Art Fair. We feel this is a great achievement both for BlindArt and AAF.

Tickets for the evening cost £20 and are available direct from BlindArt. Call: 0207 245 9977, or email info@xxxxxxxxxxxx AAF will donate all proceeds from tickets sales to BlindArt.

BlindArt will have a stall at the Art Fair, kindly donated by AAF, and will be exhibiting and selling works by our represented artists. All money raised will go towards supporting blind and partially sighted people to access and participate in the visual arts.

www.affordableartfair.co.uk

http://www.blindart.net/events/display?contentId=3227

link to British Satilite News about AfORDABLE ART COMES TO THE PARK

http://www.bsn.org.uk/view_all.php?id=11484



i-map

http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=4652

japan,hospital,ud

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/scene/20060318TDY12001.htm


In addition to the artist and her exhibit, Student Support Services at Indiana University East will celebrate Disability Awareness Week throughout next week. There will be videos, games, prizes and vendors in the lobby of Whitewater Hall all week long.

Katie Wedell is a Palladium-Item intern. To comment on this story, contact assistant city editor Mary Sell at (765) 973-4476 or mgsell@xxxxxxxxxxxx

http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060323/NEWS01/603230319/1008

(excerpt)

Though legally blind and able to see only muted colors, light and shadow, George nonetheless has shot many photos of this rugged area. (A friend may go with him to Mount Hancock, but "I could climb alone if I really had to," he says. "I know it that well.")

For George to see his own photos, he has to enlarge each image and greatly increase the contrast on his computer. "Most people see to photograph," he says. "I photograph in order to see."

He developed this technique and has taught workshops on it from Harlem to Seoul and at the Smithsonian Institution.

"If a visually impaired person has some light perception, this opens up a new visual world to them they never thought they'd enjoy," he says.

George served in the White House as a special assistant on disability matters and wrote a book about photography. He moved to Alpine from the East Coast eight years ago and loves the simplicity of life, the friendliness of the people and the climate.

"I tell my friends back East how incredibly beautiful the Big Bend region is, send them photos and enjoy taunting them when they have blizzards," he says. "Yet, some still say, 'You're nuts to live out there at the end of the Earth!' But my photographs speak for themselves. No one can look upon a print of a mountain sunset and not see something special."

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:hKSS2mIVhaoJ:www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/jpronk/stories/031906dntrapronk.298fd346.html+%22George+served+in+the+White+House+as+a+special+assistant+on+disability+matters%22+&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2

i-Map, the award winning arts resource for visually impaired people, has been updated to provide visitors with audio and new interactive content. Available at Tate Online (www.tate.org.uk/imap), i-Map is aimed at blind and partially sighted people with a general interest in art as well as art teachers and their visually impaired pupils.

The site originally launched in 2002 when it became the UK’s first online art resource for visually impaired people. Since then, it has received widespread recognition including winning a BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Award for Accessibility in 2002, being short-listed for the Visionary Design Awards in 2002, and receiving a special commendation at the Jodi Mattes Awards 2003.

Working in conjunction with BT, Tate Online has extended the original site with an additional section called The Everyday Transformed which explores the works of six twentieth century artists – Giorgio de Chirico, Fernand Leger, Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, Natalya Goncharova, Patrick Caulfield and Francis Picabia. The original resource, which focused on the works of Matisse and Picasso is also still available.

An integral aspect of the BT facilitated i-Map is raised drawings. Used in conjunction with the text-only facility on the website, the drawings bring to life the visual elements of the art works for those people who have no useful sight. They can be accessed from the raised images on the website and can be ordered from the RNIB Raised Images Service.

Commenting on the initiative, Caro Howell, former Curator for Special Projects at Tate Modern, said: ‘i-Map aims to provide a tailor made resource for visually impaired people to engage with the ideas and debates of modern art. Approximately two million people in the UK have difficulty seeing and Tate believes that this should not prevent them from enjoying art.’

Tate Online, is the UK’s No 1 art website, regularly attracting over 800,000 visitors a month. Through the provision of cutting edge online technology, BT has worked with Tate to make art accessible for everyone and the recent additions to i-Map demonstrate this rationale. In the past two years, Tate Online has won two BAFTA interactive entertainment awards for online content. Visitor figures continue to grow and the online gallery attracted over 7 million unique visitors in 2005.

Related links to this article:

Tate

www.tate.org.uk/imap

Making hospitals easier to navigate

Takashi Koyama / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

An increasing number of medical institutions are not only applying the concept of universal design to their facilities, but are also asking patients for their opinions and making improvements after their initial completion.

Universal design is an approach to designing facilities, products, services and environments to ensure they can be used or enjoyed by as many people as possible, regardless of their physical condition, age, gender or culture.

Inouye Eye Hospital in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, has adopted this approach for its new outpatient unit, the Ochanomizu Inouye Eye Clinic, on the 18th-20th floors of a neighboring building in January. The UD outpatient clinic has a floor space of 2,827 square meters. Patients are positive about the design. One patient said, "The floor is bright so I can walk around without worrying." Another said, "I was able to get to the doctor's examination room without getting lost."

About 1,000 patients from across the nation visit the hospital each day, but the 25-year-old building with 34 beds used to have a bad reputation. Every time a new examination room was added, new signs had to be put up, which confused many patients. Signs hung from the ceiling were hard to see for glaucoma patients who have limited vision. Some patients would even ask the way to the restroom without realizing they were standing right in front of it.

"Even though many people here have problems with their vision, these people were not taken into consideration when the hospital was designed," reflected clinic Director Kenji Inoue.

He decided to canvass patients' opinions about how the floor guide of the new clinic should be designed. About 100 patients and 200 staff members participated in a survey on what a patient-friendly floor guide should be like.

The hospital came up with three floor map alternatives, but was surprised by the one that functioned best. The hospital tested out the three maps and checked how long patients took to find the waiting room using each one. The average time was shortest when the patients simply had a map with only the lounge marked.

Based on its survey, the hospital came up with the size, design and symbols its signs should have so that they would be easy to look at and easy to understand for patients.

The latest UD techniques are used as well. The hospital decided not to use tactile guideways--as commonly seen at stations in the form of yellow strips with raised bumps or ridges. This was because elderly people sometimes stumble on them. Instead they opted for vinyl tiles for guidance so that patients can sense a difference in touch and sound with a cane or stick.

Also, the seats in the waiting room are sloped at the back to provide people sitting in the next row a support they can use when they stand up.

"UD is meaningless unless patients are happy. So we intend to continue evaluating how to ensure this," Inoue said.

According to architect and UD expert Yoshihiko Kawauchi, the approach of continuing the testing and evaluation of completed facilities by monitoring users' opinions is called the "spiral-up approach." The approach has been gaining attention in the past couple of years.

"If you apply the spiral-up approach, you don't have to be a genius to make things with a good design," Kawauchi says.

A welfare facility in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, is another example of the spiral-up approach. The city government and architects discussed with 1,031 elderly people and welfare organization group members the design last year of a multipurpose welfare facility scheduled to open next year.

In response to the citizens' opinions, the architect reduced the number of walls so that disabled people and elderly people could better see one another's activities. Also, the corridors were made as straight as possible because visually impaired respondents said it was hard for them to follow corridors that zigzag.

The width of the hallways was originally set at 1.8 meters--a space legally wide enough for two wheelchairs to pass each other--but was expanded by another 50 centimeters so the walls could be used as an art space.

"It took time, but citizens have come to view the facility as their own," city government official Kazuyoshi Aiso said. "If we find something wrong with the design, we'll continue modifying it."

The need for continual adaptation beyond the completion of facilities was emphasized by Toyo University Prof. Gihei Takahashi, who took part in designing the center. "The creation process is important for UD, but the improvements made after completion are just as much important," he said.

(Mar. 18, 2006)

http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2006/02/27/33728.html

(excerpt)


BlindArt will have a stall at the Art Fair, kindly donated by AAF, and will be exhibiting and selling works by our represented artists. All money raised will go towards supporting blind and partially sighted people to access and participate in the visual arts.

www.affordableartfair.co.uk

http://www.blindart.net/events/display?contentId=3227


article

link to British Satilite News about AfORDABLE ART COMES TO THE PARK

http://www.bsn.org.uk/view_all.php?id=11484

SCRIPT:

Battersea Park hosts two Affordable Art Fairs a year, in Spring and Autumn. Outside, the wind off the River Thames may still be chilly, but inside the energy of intense creativity generates its own heat.

125 galleries from all over Britain are represented. With an astonishing range of original works of art priced from £50 to £3000, the fair fills a much-needed niche.

SOT (English speech) super: Will Ramsay / Founder, Affordable Art Fair

“Firstly, on the gallery front, there was not a fair for the smaller gallery selling the lower end of the market let’s say, and on a different tack, there was not an art fair for those people of limited budget or those who felt intimidated by the art world, and so we’re trying to take away the fear factor and the price misconception that you have to be a millionaire to buy art.“

Among the higher priced photographs on sale is this, the first picture ever taken of 60s fashion model Twiggy, by Barry Lategan, on sale for £1800. Other famous faces up for grabs are John Lennon and Bob Marley.

But it’s the painting and sculpture where imaginations run riot. This Heath-Robinson device is made from scrap metal. It’s not only a work of art, it has a practical use as a very effective nut cracker.

The gallery run by British charity Blindart is perhaps the only one where visitors are encouraged to touch the artworks. It features the work of artists with visual impairment and commissioned work of art, designed for blind art lovers to enjoy.

SOT (English speech) super: Sheri Khayami / Founder, Blindart Charity

“There is touch that Blindart is really promoting, there is olefactory art, art that has scents, that we will show at scents and sensuality exhibitions. Auditory art and gustatory art, art that is actually edible.“

Lovers of gustatory art are catered for by Eat The Paint, a group of artist chefs from Britain and Switzerland who specialise in paintings made from chocolate. Being chefs, they insist on only the finest ingredients.

SOT (English speech) super: Mark Alsterlind / Eat the Paint

“We do have them for sale, and the idea is that somebody wil possess the painting with the five senses. Not just trying to get a painting hanging on the wall and pass it down to their great-grandchildren. The idea is to buy a painting, to enjoy it for a while, to have friends over some night, to make a cake and put the painting on top of the cake, and then you consume the art work.“

There are so many outstanding art works in this year’s collection that picking the best of show will be a problem for visitors.

This triptych by Phillipa Robbins is called simply “gaze”

This, by blind artist Gary Sargeant, is titled “Men as Trees walking”

While this three dimensional work by Volker Khün is called “Homage à Magritte”

The Affordable Art Fair is expecting some 20,000 visitors over 5 days. Many of them will be walking home with an affordable original tucked under their arm. For those who miss out this time, there’ll be another opportunity, in the Autumn.


Other related posts: