During the All-Ukrainian pilgrimage to the Manyavsky Monastery of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphany, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, representatives of the university, led by Acting Rector Ihor Tsependa, presented a unique tactile icon of the Manyavsky Virgin Mary, created specifically for people with visual impairments.
The creative and scientific team of the Department of Design made this icon and Art Theory of the Vasyl Stefanyk Educational and Scientific Institute of Arts of the Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University. The icon is part of an inclusive project aimed at making art accessible to blind people.
The following took part in the consecration ceremony of the icon: project manager, associate professor Nadiya Babiy, head of the Department of Design and Art Theory Oleg Chuyko, Professor Bohdan Hubal, as well as the patron of the project – entrepreneur Vasyl Rymaruk. They were awarded the medal “For Sacrifice and Love for Ukraine”.
The icon is made using a special tactile technique: its three-dimensional texture can be explored by touch, feeling the contours of the figures, clothing, and the face of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. This allows people with visual impairments to “read” the image with their hands, touch the sacred image, and feel its depth and warmth. A special feature of the icon is the QR codes.
By scanning them with a smartphone, visitors can listen to an audio description: who is depicted on the icon, what details are important, what gestures, colors, and compositional elements symbolize.
This is a full-fledged story about the spiritual content and artistic content of the image.
Inclusive art projects for people with visual impairments are one of the areas of work of the Center for Research on Universal Design Strategies, created at Carpathian University.
The goal is to make art accessible to everyone, regardless of physical abilities. During the war, thousands of Ukrainians lost their sight. Moreover, today, more than ever, it is important to give them the opportunity to feel the beauty, spirituality, and touch of sacred art.
This is more than an artistic experiment. It is a step towards true inclusion, when the spiritual treasures of Ukraine are revealed to everyone.