Yilu Zhang

4.51 Making Tactile Books: Combining Community Education with Inclusive Education (Paper) – virtual

Yilu Zhang – HangZhou Normal University, China – virtual

Abstract:

Tactile Books are three-dimensional sculptural picture books made from various materials that resemble real objects. They not only provide imagery reading materials for visually impaired children but also have more potential value. However, due to the high production cost, they are difficult to distribute widely. Starting from October 2024, the Art Without Barriers: Tactile Book Making Project by Hangzhou Normal University has become a community art education project with the goal of enhancing the community’s capacity for empathy. It takes “emotions” as the theme of the book making, linking smell and touch as means of artistic expression and creation. The final works will be shared by co-creators in terms of copyright and donated as teaching aids to educational and charitable institutions for visually and mentally impaired children. 

This project creates new social ties that not only enhances the empathy of the community participants but also generates a large number of tactile books at low cost to meet the needs of special education – including for the visually impaired and the autistic – and even offers potential artistic job opportunities for them.