Tactile Gallery, Louvre

Egypt Daily Star News

A photograph of a visually impaired man, with his guide dog, exploring a replica of the serekh of Djet in the Louvre's Tactile Gallery:

Didier Roule, with his dog "Panisse," touches a replica of ancient Egypt's Snake King as part of an exhibition for blind and visually-impaired people at Louvre Museum in Paris, Monday Feb. 18. The Louvre's Tactile Gallery is the only space in the Paris museum where visitors can touch the sculptures, with no guards or alarms to stop them. Its new exhibit there is targeted to the blind and children.

There is an article about the Tactile Gallery at the Louvre on the Yahoo! News website:

The Louvre's Tactile Gallery, targeted to the blind and visually impaired, is the only space in the Paris museum where visitors can touch the sculptures, with no guards or alarms to stop them. Its latest exhibit is a crowd pleaser: a menagerie of sculpted lions, snakes, horses and eagles.

The 15 bronze, plaster and terra cotta animals are reproductions of famous works found elsewhere in the Louvre. Called "Animals, Symbols of Power," the exhibit focuses on animals that were used by kings, emperors and pharaohs throughout history to symbolize the greatness of their reigns.

Though the gallery was conceived for the blind and visually impaired, children and other visitors also enjoy it. During guided tours on the weekends, children can explore the art with blindfolds on.

The Louvre opened the Tactile Gallery in 1995. Though other French cultural exhibits offer periodic events and programs for the blind, the Louvre says it is the only museum in France with a gallery specifically for the visually impaired. Elsewhere in Europe - Ancona, Italy, and Athens, Greece - also have entire tactile museums.