The aim of this presentation is to reconstruct the epistemic and institutional milestones in the history of the tactile art gallery analytically, critically, and in a global perspective. Tactile art galleries are heterotopias within the functional unit of the museum. They suspend the founding paradigm of these institutions by breaking away from ocularcentrism and liberating their objects for haptic experience. They first emerged in the United States in the early 1960s against the backdrop of the disability rights movement and soon spread around the world. All tactile art galleries were designed for blind and visually disabled people, but were also accessible to nonblind visitors. The history of the tactile gallery is linked to contemporary art historical phenomena such as the participatory approach of environmental art, but also to the methodology of art history. By examining these historical approaches to museum pedagogy for the blind, the talk will also critically engage with contemporary tactile programs in art institutions.
 

Dr Tobias Teutenberg studied art history and philosophy at the Universities of Kassel, Munich, Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Augsburg and the École normale supérieure in Paris. From 2012 to 2015 he was a doctoral fellow of the Gerda Henkel Foundation. Subsequently, he worked as assistant professor and research assistant at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich and as research assistant at the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte, Munich. Since May 2020 he has been working on the SNF project "Heinrich Wölfflin – Collected Works" at the University of Zurich. From June to August 2020, he was a Post Doc Fellow at the Kulturstiftung Brandenburg (Wiepersdorf Castle). Since November 2021 he is working as a research assistant at the Weddigen Department of the Biboliotheca Hertziana.

This event will be held both on-campus and online via Zoom (a link to the online stream will be sent to registered attendees).
The School of Art & Design Seminar series will continue weekly on Tuesdays from 1-2pm, between 16 July and 29 October 2024.  
The School of Art & Design Seminar Series is co-convened by Dr Alex Burchmore, Alia Parker, and Elisa Crossing.