Breaking the conventional ‘do not touch’ rule commonly applied to exhibitions, the ‘Touch, Sculpt, Knead’ project proposes a tactile experience where visitors, including the sighted, the blind, and the visually impaired, can feel and enjoy artworks.

All works created by participants in the previous workshop will remain displayed in sealed boxes. Information and images of the works will be kept confidential, even from the artists themselves. Visitors are encouraged to explore the sculptures tactilely and share their thoughts and guesses through prediction slips.

Information about the artworks will only be revealed on the ‘exposure day’ at the end of the exhibition, which also serves as the project wrap-up (November 2nd). This is an opportunity for workshop participants to reflect on their experiences, and share interesting findings during the process with audiences.

Through these activities, the project aims to create a space for interaction and exchange, where sighted people can experience and understand how blind/visually impaired people “read” shapes and imagine images. Conversely, through dialogue and sharing about the process and result of sculpting practice, the blind/visually impaired can explore the tactile creation of sighted people, wherein art serves as a bridge for connection, sharing, and understanding.

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The project “Touch, Sculpt, Knead – Seeing with Hands, Imagining in the Dark” was initiated by curator Trần Lương, organized by the Center for Art Patronage and Development (APD) in collaboration with Vietnam and Friends. The project was developed as a result of the Goethe-Institut Hanoi’s “Open Call: Inclusive Art” cooperation program. This program aims to address the concerns of people with disabilities in Vietnam and to highlight the inclusive potential of the arts and how everyone in society – both able-bodied and disabled – benefits from greater inclusion.

About Vietnam and Friends

Vietnam and Friends (VAF) is a Vietnamese non-governmental organization based in Hanoi. Founded in 2011, Vietnam and Friends has been working to support disadvantaged people, especially the visually impaired in Vietnam and take care of environmental problems. VAF cooperates with several partners to carry out their volunteer projects, e.g. with schools, support centers and other local associations as well as with international NGOs.