Lancaster’s art collection is being brought to life for those with sight loss and other visual impairments thanks to a grant of £16,000. We have been working with Lancaster University’s School of Engineering and Galloway’s Society for the Blind on 3D print relief images of some of the paintings on display at the museums. We are also aiming to print copies of small or fragile objects from the museum collection and make them available for people to touch.

Over the last year we have worked alongside people with sight loss, two university interns and 4th year engineering students as well as academics from the School of Engineering. The project has aimed to discover the best way to 3D print relief images of paintings from the museum collections. Following feedback we have added audio description and a stand to contain the 3D lithophane for ease of use. We're also focused on the need to make this as simple and inexpensive as possible, with the vision of every museum being able to afford to make their artwork available in this way.

UPDATE - June 2024: We're delighted to say that the Touch and See project has won an internationally prestigious TCT Award for the creative use of 3D printing. The team have also recently had a paper published in the International Journal for the Inclusive Museum.

We are currently trialling public use of the lithophanes at both the City Museum and the Maritime Museum, and everyone is welcome to visit the museums and try them out! This is an ongoing project and feedback is always welcome. Please contact us at lancastercitymuseum@lancaster.gov.uk or lancastermaritimemuseum@lancaster.gov.uk with any comments.