The “PLEASE DON’T TOUCH” exhibition is the first in a planned series of available exhibitions. Accessible, because the main goal of the event is to reduce the exclusion of blind people and children from cultural life.

The title of the exhibition emphasizes its concept, breaking the stereotypical assumptions of art exhibition spaces, which suggest that engaging with art in ways other than through sight is inappropriate or harmful to the exhibits themselves.

This approach not only opens art to a broader audience but also significantly expands the perception of a piece by allowing the barrier of touch to be overcome. Encounters with sculpture and structural painting can be particularly exciting, as their tactile experience might entirely change our interpretation of a given object.

Smooth paintings, whose touch might reveal little about the artwork, have been complemented with tactile graphics (typhlographics), enabling the exploration of the painting’s composition and providing a sense of its multidimensionality and complexity.

The works presented in the exhibition were not created specifically for this event. This intentional choice was meant to demonstrate that art’s accessibility largely depends on how it is presented. Today’s technology allows us to expand accessibility in truly unrestricted ways, but it requires willingness, effort, and collaboration. In our case, this collaboration was with the Szansa Foundation – Jesteśmy Razem, where I found support for my planned activities and gained knowledge. Without this, I would still only be offering you the “viewing” of art.
Featured Works:

SECRETS OF THE SENSES | ceramic composition | Beata Bogucka

SKYWARD JOURNEYS and SERENITY | structural painting | Ewa Mróz

LONELINESS III and IV | linocut matrix, blind print, print on plexiglass and paper | Aneta Szoltis-Mencina

CURIOSITY | acrylic painting and tactile graphic | Filip Łoziński

BEETLE NO. 60 | acrylic painting with gold leaf and tactile graphic | Joanna Czajkowska

DOLCE VITA | acrylic painting and tactile graphic | Marta Tondera

JUSTICE | acrylic painting and tactile graphic | Barbara Kieca

ENTANGLED LIVES | acrylic painting and tactile graphic | Anna Pikos

KITES | watercolor painting and tactile graphic | Michał Poziemski

Do these works collectively tell a story? Not this time! For this exhibition, I focused on diversity—of techniques, themes, genres, and presentation styles. There is no more valuable lesson than experience, and that was my focus here. To lay a foundation for asking as many questions as possible and to use the answers gathered to create a true EXHIBITION WITHOUT BORDERS.

Author: Patrycja Kudła-Łopińska