Compassion + Art = Change

It's a sad fact that blind people don't often get to experience art. Japanese volunteers are changing this.

The Illustrated Braille Club is a volunteer group that translates picture books, stories, even manga into Braille. They turn the images into dots, then print them on special paper that punches raised dots into the paper. They specialize in children's books, translating favorites like Peter Rabbit and Disney, so that kids who can't see can still connect with culture. Perhaps one day, galleries and art museums will feature dot-image translations of paintings for the blind. Or at least allow sturdier sculptures to become hands-on exhibits.

In related news, Tokyo University researchers have developed e-paper, an electronic Braille display surface that can alter itself in just 1 second. The current prototype is a portable card for fast and easy reading.