The Touchable Non-Disabled Modern Art Museum project which aims for visually disabled individual's to be able to access to art works, is deemed for award by European Parliament. Nuray Erden, a ceramic artist from Izmir who brought the project into life, became one of 9 women who won the European International Leadership Women Award.
Nuray Erden, a ceramic artist living in Izmir, opened the Touchable Non-Disabled Modern Art Museum three years ago in Karsiyaka district as part of her studies intended to enable visually disabled individuals' access to art works. The museum is opened by the contributions of nongovernmental organizations that are carrying out activities for the benefit of local administrations and disableds and it hosted tens of thousands disabled individuals up until now. The museum project is the only one and one of the limited examples in Europe which made it deemed for an award by the EP. In the evaluation made by the EP subsidiary organization European International Leadership Women Awards Forum, Erden is chosen as one of 9 successful women in 2023 and got her award on March 8 International Women's Day in Brussels.
In award ceremony made in the European Union Hesse State Representative Office, Erden's award is presented by one of the European Parliament members Miriam Lexmann. In her speech she made in the ceremony, Erden stated that she took this award in behalf of her workmates in the workshop, the project's supporter Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and Turkey and earthquake victim citizens. In the ceremony opening, a one-minute stand in silence is saluted to those who lost their lives in the Kahramanmaras earthquake.
Nuray Erden indicated that she is honored with the award she got and said “Thanks to this museum, we became a hope for those eyes that cannot see and enabled disabled individuals to reach to art works. Specially produced paintings and works we made can be reviewed by disabled visitors with sensible surfaces. There were no such facilities in Izmir and Turkey. It's even one of those limited number of museums in Europe and in the world therefore there are also foreign visitors coming here from abroad. With this museum we founded as a result of our years of efforts, I'm deemed worthy of an award and I'm honored in behalf of my country. I believe that we will be expanding the scope of these works and reaching for more disabled individuals”.
With particularly 44 ceramic embossed paintings worked by Nuray Erden and the artists of Idol Art House who produce and exhibit touchable works since 2014, there are also faithful works of famous painters belonging to various movements of modern art era, in the museum. Being in service under the Ornekkoy Center for Awareness where visually disabled individuals can visit with appointment, the museum exhibits many modern era artists' works as touchable and with audio description.
