TOUCH project

TOUCH project

Author of the project concept

Atanas Totlyakov

In 1921 Filippo Tommaso Marinetti publishes his Manifesto of tactilism in which he outlines the idea of Art inspired by Touch – art that goes beyond the established paradigm of optic, aural and verbal but focused on tactility. In his Manifesto Marinetti calls the tactile art – an embryo, which has to develop over time.

„TOUCH” is an international art project that explores tactility in relation to knowledge, creativity, cultural practices and innovation in art.
The project is supported by the European Cultural Foundation. It will be implemented by international partners – The FabriC Regional Cultural Center (Bulgaria), International Council for Cultural Centers (Bulgaria), ESDi (Eskola Superior de Disseny), Barcelona (Spain), Cultura 21 (Denmark) in Veliko Tarnovo and Gabrovo (Bulgaria), Barcelona (Spain) and Copenhagen (Denmark).

Project team:
Atanas Totlyakov – Author of the concept, Bulgarian visual artist;
Nadezhda Savova - Bulgarian researcher, PhD Candidate, Cultural Anthropology, Princeton University, USA;
Carlos Jimenez – Spanish professor and researcher at ESDi,. Director of the Department for Product and Interior Design;
Oleg Koefoed - Action-philosopher, PhD, researcher, interventionist, Denmark;
Mariana Prodanova – project manager, Bulgaria

Project activities have been launched on the basis of in-depth needs assessment and are grouped in the following segments:
• Art works and activities based on tactility as means of expression;
• Observation and documentation of the tactile perceptions of people creating tactile images;
• Involvement and inclusion of diverse audience - sight-impaired people, visual artists, art students, art professors, sighted people;