Zero Project also wants to make art in public spaces accessible to everyone. In 2024, further important landmarks were created.
The "Art in Passing" project, launched by Street Art Belgrade 2021, aims to make street art accessible to people with visual impairments through 3D-printed tactile models. In order to introduce this innovation in the field of inclusive art education to others, the Zero Project 2023 invited the Serbian street artist Jana Danilović to the Zero Project Conference 2023, the #ZeroCon23. During the three-day conference, she designed the mural "Inclusion ZPC23" as a barrier-free work of art in the premises of the UNO City in Vienna.
The depiction of two women embracing, one of whom is in a wheelchair, is intended to show that love and touch overcome barriers. Birds flying around convey the feeling of limitless possibilities. The mural was also equipped with three-dimensional elements and a tactile panel, which make the work of art tangible.
Implementation from Vienna to Iowa
This innovation was subsequently implemented in public spaces to provide a barrier-free art experience. Together with "Calle Libre", three murals in Karl Farkas Park in Vienna's seventh district were supplemented with tactile panels. These contain sections of the artworks in three-dimensional form and an explanation in Braille. Audio information can also be accessed via a QR code attached to the panel. The reliefs were also designed in color to make the tactile representations attractive for children playing in the park.
The work "Inclusion ZPC23" also inspired Jill Wells, artist and fellow at the Harkin Institute of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa (USA), to imitate it. After taking part in the #ZeroCon23, she complemented her artwork at King Elementary School in Des Moines with a tactile board. Participants from Australia, Bulgaria, Israel and the UK also expressed interest in this form of inclusive art education.
And for Jana Danilović, working on #ZeroCon23 was also a groundbreaking experience: “This project has shown me how I can proceed in my work to include the tactile aspect.”
Touching Vienna's largest mural
A special highlight in the efforts of the Essl Foundation and the Zero Project to make art accessible to all is "Woman with dove", which was created in spring 2024 and is highly visible on one of the towers of the Vienna International Centre. The almost 1,000 square meter graffiti is a work by the Australian artist Fintan Magee and addresses the work of the United Nations and the fragility of peace.
The client was the United Nations Information Service in Vienna, which is a long-standing partner of the Essl Foundation and enables the annual Zero Project Conference to be held in the premises of Vienna's UNO City. In coordination with the UN, the artist and a blind expert, the Essl Foundation made a tactile panel possible to make Vienna's largest mural tangible and understandable with multiple senses.
