ARTWORDS in the making
Is there art in the darkness?
When one thinks about art, they almost immediately reminisce about a lively painting that has been imprinted on their mind or a sculpture they were impressed by. Undoubtedly, at some point of their life, art must have been a source of inspiration, creativity or even romance…
In case you can not ,actually, stare at the artwork and endulge on its details, does that mean that you can not let it enrich your life?
Of course it does not have to, but unfortunately , in Greece the art world does not go the extra mile in order to bring this light in the darkness.
Practically speaking, the majority of greek museums, does not take advantage of the audio element, which is not only well- received but also is much appreciated by a visually impaired person. The overwhelming bureaucracy paired with limited funding, does not allow the usage of headsets and prerecorded “tours’ of the museums — a method that is almost always a guaranteed feature abroad.
However, even the museums that manage to use such a tool, like the museum of Cycladic Art, could we say that a lyrical description of a painting suffices?
How can a person who has never seen a grass field understand the hue, emerald green? Or appreciate the intricacy of a modern painting if they can barely make out blurs and shades?
In order to answer these questions ourselves, we stumbled upon the realization of what art truly is … its palette of feelings, a thought or a moment of peace.
Thus, we understood , after getting in touch with people with various levels of visual impairment, that a vivid and conceptual “translation” of a painting brings them very close to what they would visually receive.
Immediately, we were inspired to create a platform where we could offer exactly that… A more creative audio version of pieces of various different pieces of art — from paintings, to sculptures and to ornaments- depicted from people who enjoy art and who are ideally familiar with working with people without instact eyesight.
We realized that since our vision would be a well — needed fight against this unfair discrimination, we could make great use of the greek society’s will to aid and contribute. Happily, volunteering will help us bring our vision to life and launch an easily accessible, free app that will be an art environment truly free of discriminations…
We would like to proudly present to you… “ArtWords” !
With great pleasure, we also want to invite Greek art organizations, non profitable foundations , such as “Φάρος” , a carrier that has been doing amazing work ever since 1946, museums that have already pin -pointed this lack in the greek artworld — like the museum of Acropolis who launched in 2021 the concept of a digital , equal museum, as well as independent volunteers , to collaborate into creating a unique new era of audio galleries.
Finally, we would like to expand our vision even more, by creating a safe space where visually challenged artists can share their work, seek or offer tutorials and also guide new intrigued volunteers.
We can not wait to work with you and “whisper” some art… into the darkness
BY B[AD] GIRLS
for StartupLab by ADandPRLAB Panteion University
