CURATE LAB brings young artists and local museums together to make art more accessible through touch, with the hope of expanding this work to include other sensory experiences in the future. Based in Reno, we create tactile models for art education so that visitors, including K–12 students and people who are blind or have low vision, can explore the form and construction of artworks with their hands.
My interest in this work grew out of making and exhibiting art in Nevada. In local galleries, I often noticed visitors stand at a distance, glance at a wall label, and move on. I wanted to offer them more ways to engage with the work. During my 2025 summer internship at Cornell’s Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, I created a layered, interactive model based on a master piece by Lee Bontecou and made it available for visitors to handle. The response from students and families encouraged me to continue this work in my own community.
Through my involvement with the Nevada Museum of Art and The Holland Project, I am developing local collaborations and inviting other young artists to contribute models and share how they are made. Our aim is to make these models a regular part of museum classes and family programs, while giving young artists opportunities to contribute to art education through their own creative work.
Accessibility, to us, is more than removing barriers — it's an invitation to learning, empathy, and shared discovery. It isn't an optional addition to how art is experienced. It's essential to how art should be shared, understood, and felt.
- Founder, Anastasia Treadway
Replica of Lee Bontecou's 1959 sculpture
of welded iron, canvas, wire, and velvet in the
Johnson Museum of Art's collection
(Photo Credit to Johnson Museum of Art)
of welded iron, canvas, wire, and velvet in the
Johnson Museum of Art's collection
(Photo Credit to Johnson Museum of Art)
Lee Bontecou Interactive Piece by Ana Treadway
Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, 2025
Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, 2025