Aksaray University research assistant Cahit Şahin is giving visually impaired individuals the ability to experience world-renowned artworks through touch using a relief technique.
Şahin, who works in the university’s Special Education Department, said he converted significant works of art into tactile formats, allowing visually impaired individuals to explore them independently.
“Now, visually impaired individuals can touch and engage with the art using their own skills,” he said. “This is the first time many of them can personally experience these works rather than relying solely on descriptions.”
The project, which began in Aksaray in central Türkiye, transforms globally recognized paintings and sculptures into tactile formats that follow universal design principles, making them accessible to fully sighted, partially sighted, and blind individuals alike. Transparent sheets with descriptive text accompany the artworks so visitors can choose visual, auditory, or tactile ways to engage.
Şahin said the initiative aims to address gaps in Türkiye’s education system, where visually impaired students are often exempted from visual content in lessons. “We adapted methods so students with visual impairments can access visual expressions, starting with art,” he said.
Exhibitions of the tactile artworks have also been organized at Necmettin Erbakan University in Konya and Gazi University in Ankara. Şahin said the program aims to expand further, eventually integrating tactile artworks into school textbooks and allowing children to experience visual learning from an early age.
The exhibitions have drawn strong interest from students and educators alike. Şahin recounted one 40-year-old visually impaired teacher who said, “This is the first time I have ever touched a painting.”
“Experiencing the artworks firsthand brings joy and inspires more exploration,” Şahin said. “We hope to expand the number of artworks and reach more people with visual impairments.”
