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From Museum Store to tactile exhibition: my journey into tactile interpretation - Wakefield Museums and Castles
From Museum Store to tactile exhibition: my journey into tactile interpretation
Tuesday, August 25, 2026This guest blog has kindly been written by local artist Ruth Fones. Ruth was selected for our commission to improve accessibility in the Plastic Fantastic? exhibition through new tactile interpretation.
Read on to discover Ruth's process and approach to the project. Learn about her co-production with local blind and partially sighted adults.
When I spotted an advert for a commission to create tactile interpretation for Wakefield Museum’s ‘Plastic Fantastic?’ exhibition, I knew straight away that I wanted to be involved.
Accessibility and tactile art have become an increasingly important part of my practice. I continue to develop and deliver “Art Beyond Vision”. This is a programme of accessible workshops for blind and partially sighted adults, for Wakefield District Sight Aid. From this work I have been inspired to develop a solo exhibition, “Please Touch the Art”. These artworks were designed to be interacted with through touch.
My recent Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) project, “Art at Your Fingertips”, explored tactile art on a larger scale.
So when I was selected for this commission, it felt like a really exciting opportunity to take those ideas into a different setting.
Artist Ruth Fones at the Wakefield Museums and Castles Collections Store
Into the museum stores
One of the highlights of the project came very early on. I organised a visit to the Wakefield Museums and Castles collection store with members of Wakefield District Sight Aid.
There is something rather magical about being taken behind the scenes in a museum. Instead of viewing objects safely behind glass, we were welcomed into the archive. We were invited to handle and explore a selection of the collection.
And this was important.
Accessibility is still too often something that is considered after an exhibition has been designed. Large-print information, audio descriptions and Braille can be incredibly valuable. But, when an exhibition is primarily visual, there can still be a disconnect between the visitor and the objects themselves.
This project gave us the chance to approach things differently.
Members of Wakefield District Sight Aid on a tour of the collection store
The group could actually touch the objects. They talked about them and decided which ones they found most interesting. Their thoughts and reactions became part of the creative process. It helped to shape which objects I would go on to interpret as tactile replicas.
For me, this was one of the most exciting aspects of the commission. It wasn’t about me deciding what people might want to experience. It was about creating something with people and listening to what they thought would be interesting and engaging.
Some of Wakefield Museum's ecclectic mid-century plastics collection
Then came the 3D scanning…
Once the objects had been selected, my next challenge was exploring how to turn them into tactile replicas.
I decided to 3D scan the objects, create digital models and then 3D print the replicas. These would be robust enough to withstand being handled throughout a year-long exhibition. They're also made from a bioplastic called PLA (polylactic acid). This is biodegradable and compostable in the right conditions.
However, unfortunately 3D scanners really don’t like reflective objects like plastics. Shiny surfaces can confuse the scanner. They can create all sorts of distortions in the finished model. Some of the objects required quite a bit of experimentation, cleaning up and redesigning before they were suitable for printing.
Then I had some technical issues with my home 3D printer. Thankfully, I had someone I could call on for help.
Enter Harry and the 3D printer...
My nephew Harry has his own 3D printer - and actually a much newer version than mine! So I was thrilled that I could involve him in the project.
I was particularly interested in his perspective on the work. Harry is an autistic teenager. It was so valuable to see how he responded to the sensory aspects of the process, particularly the opportunity to handle and explore objects in a more tactile way. From our visit to the museum stores through to the making, refining and testing of the objects. This experience reinforced my beliefs that engaging with touch and materiality isn’t something that should be thought of as relevant only to blind or visually impaired audiences (more on that later).
Harry getting to grips with the collection at the museum store
Seeing something that he had helped create go from an idea, to a digital model, to a physical object and eventually into a museum exhibition was a lovely part of the project.
There was a lot of experimenting along the way. Some prints worked beautifully. Others definitely did not! But gradually the objects began to take shape.
This video shows timelapses of Harry's 3D printer creating some of the replica objects.
From old objects to new experiences
Eventually, I managed to produce some actual size tactile replicas. They were of the Hawkeye Brownie Camera, the beehive yarn holder and the elephant napkin ring. I also created a scaled model of a toy record player.
Members of the Art Beyond Vision group got to handle the replica objects first.
Seeing the finished pieces in the exhibition was a real sense of achievement. They are at the forefront of the display, ready to be touched, handled and explored.
And that is what I love about tactile interpretation.
We are so used to being told “Please don’t touch” when we visit museums and galleries. There is something wonderfully different about creating objects where touching isn’t just permitted — it’s part of the experience.
The replica handling objects front and centre of the Plastic Fantastic? exhibition at Wakefield Museum
Designing accessibility from the beginning
This project has made me think even more about how we approach accessibility within galleries, museums and the wider creative sector.
For me, accessibility shouldn’t be about creating a separate experience for certain visitors. It is about finding different ways for people to connect with the same work, objects and stories.
The most valuable part of this project was having people with lived experience of visual impairment involved right from the beginning. Not simply being asked to test something once it had already been made.
Their responses helped shape the work.
The technical challenges of 3D scanning and printing pushed me to develop new skills and find creative solutions. Working alongside Harry brought another perspective to the making process.
And ultimately, the finished replicas are now doing exactly what I hoped they would. Inviting people to get curious, get hands-on and experience museum objects through touch.
A tactile object can be useful to someone who is blind or visually impaired. But, it can also be fascinating to a sighted visitor. A child might explore it through touch. Someone might be drawn to its texture or shape. Another person might find that physically interacting with an object helps them connect with its story in a way that looking at it alone doesn't.
Most of us enjoy experiencing things through more than one sense. We like the feel of materials, the texture of surfaces, the sound of a space and the physicality of objects. There is something instinctive about wanting to reach out and touch something interesting — even if museums have trained us very well to resist that urge!
The aim isn't to replace the visual experience, but to add to it.
Experience the exhibition for yourself!
Plastic Fantastic? is open at Wakefield Museum until 19 June 2027. It is free entry and no booking is required. There is also an audio description guide to support your visit to the exhibition.
The Plastic Fantastic? exhibition is supported by The Exhibitions Group.