Fundació Antoni Tàpies, ONCE Group, Fundació "La Caixa" and the MUN present 'El maletín de Tàpies', a project that facilitates the artistic experience for visually impaired people.

The proposal is part of the Museum's SociARTE project, an initiative that places the Museum's resources at the service of social entities and in which 25 groups are currently participating.

How can blind or visually impaired people have an experience with a pictorial work of contemporary art? The Fundació Antoni Tàpies, the ONCE and the Museo Universidad de Navarrain collaboration with the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra and with the support of Fundación 'la Caixa', have joined forces and creativity to promote this artistic experience. The result is The Tàpies Briefcasea set of sensorial mediation tools designed to bring this group of people closer to the work The Catalan Spirit (1971), by Antoni Tàpies. The piece belongs to the Museo Universidad de Navarra Collection, thanks to the legacy of the collector María Josefa Huarte, and will participate in the exhibition that the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is preparing on the occasion of the centenary of the artist's birth. Tàpies' briefcase will also travel to Madrid.

Participating in the presentation this Friday in Pamplona were Imma Prieto, director of the Fundació Antoni Tàpies; Valentín Fortún, territorial delegate of ONCE in Navarra; Izaskun Azcona, delegate of Fundación "la Caixa" in Navarra; MªAngélica Martínez, professor at the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra; and Jaime García del Barrio, general director of the MUN. The proposal is part of the MUN's SociARTE project, an initiative that seeks to place the Museum's resources and tools at the service of social entities. Currently, 25 groups are part of the project.

A briefcase full of possibilities

Fernando Echarri, head of the Museum's educational area and of the SociARTE program, explains the origin of the project: "ONCE is part of SociARTE and one of its needs was to bring contemporary art closer to the visually impaired. Among the different possibilities, we decided to work on L'esperit catalá, by Antoni Tàpies, taking advantage of the centenary of his birth (1923)". In this sense, he values that "the MUN is a young museum that is learning to walk in an inclusive way, establishing networks with different people and groups. For this reason, this experience is considered a pioneer in the intention of creating inclusive materials that allow interaction with contemporary art and mediation between art and different people. Working with these entities has been very rewarding and profitable, an opportunity that we will not forget".

Thus, with the collaboration of all the institutions involved, this unique briefcase was designed, as described by Echarri: "It is made up of three sections: the first consists of a booklet in Braille and Spanish languages containing information on the artist's biography, his pictorial keys, the work and the transcription of the written contents contained in the piece. The booklet also has QR codes that give access to the respective audio guides of these contents. The second section has a reproduction of the work, highlighting its most significant words in Braille. The third section contains a table with a texture similar to that of the work so that it can be touched. In this way, these people can approach the work by Tàpies with other senses beyond sight".

For her part, MªAngélica Martínez, professor at the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra, explains the participation of five students from the degrees in Design and Architecture, who were asked to create an art book for people with total blindness from birth, acquired blindness or visual weakness (visual impairment). "The book proposal is the result of the documentation and research of the students, the ideation and evaluation of a series of concepts, through the analysis of the tests and the reaction of the users, the development of the design, considering the aesthetics of the objects and sculptures of Antoni Tàpies, as well as the real options offered by the different institutions and companies involved."

Thanks to this project, the teacher points out, they have also been able to reflect on issues such as "the perception of the work of art through touch and hearing; the recreation of the context of the 70s and the fundamental inspiration of Tàpies; and the interpretation of art through the recreation of matter painting, poor art and graffiti".

Rosa Eva Campo and Maria Sellarès, from the Education area of the Fundació Antoni Tàpies, emphasize that "L'esperit català" ( 1971) is a material work, very representative of the artist's painting. And the tactile reproduction facilitates the understanding of the technique and materials used by Tàpies. In this case, he used a mixture of varnish and marble dust, covered with paint, very characteristic of the artist's so-called 'materials'. In addition, the material includes the inscriptions that Tàpies made on this work in Braille. Thus, the user will have specific information about the work, texts in Braille about the context and the artist's biography, which will undoubtedly improve the experience of the visually impaired public".

From ONCE, Valentín Fortún, delegate in Navarra, values the project very positively: "It is a good practice in terms of universal accessibility that allows people with severe visual impairment to access, in this case, the work of Tàpies. In addition, it is a wake-up call for the normalization that an inclusive society must incorporate in order to include the diversity that makes it up".

For Izaskun Azcona, delegate of "la Caixa" Foundation in Navarra, "strategic alliances like the one we have with the MUN, through its SociARTE program, help us to consolidate our support for art and culture as a source of personal and social development. After all, our aim is to generate a fairer society that leaves no one behind, on this occasion through the language of contemporary art and its strategies".

He also highlights "the good technical coordination between the institutions involved, which has resulted in this accessibility project; and, on the other hand, the sensitivity and empathy with the group of people with total blindness and severe visual impairment, which has had both the Museo Universidad de Navarra and the Fundació Tàpies".