Zero Project also aims to make public art accessible to everyone. In 2024, additional 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. To promote this innovation in inclusive art education, Zero Project 2023 invited Serbian street artist Jana Danilović to the Zero Project Conference 2023, the #ZeroCon23. During the three-day conference, she created the mural "Inclusion ZPC23" as an accessible artwork at the UNO City in Vienna.
The depiction of two embracing women, one of whom is in a wheelchair, is intended to demonstrate that love and touch overcome barriers. Flying birds convey a sense of limitless possibilities. The mural was also equipped with three-dimensional elements and a tactile panel, making the artwork tangible.
Implementation from Vienna to Iowa
Subsequently, this innovation for a barrier-free art experience was also implemented in public spaces. In collaboration with "Calle Libre," three murals in Karl Farkas Park in Vienna's seventh district were supplemented with tactile panels. These include three-dimensional sections of the artworks and Braille explanations. Audio information can also be accessed via a QR code attached to the panel. Furthermore, the reliefs were colored 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 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa (USA), to follow suit. After participating in #ZeroCon23, she complemented her artwork at King Elementary School in Des Moines with a tactile panel. 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 opened my eyes to how I can proceed in my work to incorporate the tactile aspect."
Touch 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 nearly 1,000-square-meter graffiti is a work by Australian artist Fintan Magee and addresses the work of the United Nations and the fragility of peace.
The commission was the United Nations Information Service in Vienna, a long-standing partner of the Essl Foundation, which facilitates the annual Zero Project Conference at the Vienna UNO City. In coordination with the UN, the artist, and a blind expert, the Essl Foundation provided a tactile panel to make Vienna's largest mural tangible and accessible to multiple senses.
