Touchable Stories began in 1996 with the idea of using the talents of contemporary artists to help individual communities define their own voice and give it public expression. The idea caught on, and has since become a series of community profiles telling the unique stories of these routinely marginalized neighborhoods.
Two to three years in development, the conversation with each neighborhood involves exhaustive research, hundreds of hours of recorded interviews, and participation in the day-to-day life of the people that the series works to reflect.
Artists create rooms based on themes from the community. Ten to twelve rooms are then connected to form a walk-through maze, each interactive, each designed by a different hand, each using soundtracks created from the recorded interviews. The result is an intimate and dramatic journey in the life of a singular place through time — a journey with many voices.
Besides these critically acclaimed installations, based in the urban communities they serve, Touchable Stories is deeply involved in community affairs. Through a process of listening and observation, Touchable Stories networks to bring people and resources together in an effort to create sustainable futures.