TOUCH St Augustine Art Garden Groundbreaking

The St. Augustine Art Association reported to Historic City News this week that they recently broke ground for the new TOUCH St. Augustine Art Garden at the Art Center on Marine Street.

Art Association President Diane Bradley and Board Members, along with Vice Mayor Sikes-Kline and City Manager John Regan turned shovels of dirt where City Archaeologist Carl Halbirt had been conducting a preliminary archaeology excavation that yielded numerous deposits of 16th-century artifacts.

“This is the realization of a three year effort to create a gathering place where people of all abilities can begin the experience our newly unveiled TOUCH St. Augustine Braille Trail,” said Elyse Brady, Art Association Administrator.

The TOUCH St. Augustine Brail Trail is a citywide installation of bronze Braille markers at five statues in the Historic District–Pedro Menendez, Ponce de Leon, Henry Flagler, the St. Augustine Footsoldiers and Father Camps Minorcans.

Slated to open Spring 2015, the Art Garden will feature elements that appeal to the senses, including large sculptures, fountains, Braille signage and fragrant plantings, while providing greater accessibility with two ADA ramps.

TOUCH St. Augustine is an acronym for Tactile Orientation for Understanding Creativity and History. The public art accessibility project for the blind was developed by the St. Augustine Art Association in partnership with Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, the City of St. Augustine, Flagler College and the Cathedral Basilica through grants from the Community Foundation Crisp-Ellert Fund and Beta Sigma Phi.

For thirteen years, the St. Augustine Art Association has been at the forefront of enhancing access to the visual arts through its annual Tactile Art Show, an exhibit of touchable art with Braille signage. Produced for Art Beyond Sight Awareness Month each October, the exhibit is on display through November 2, from noon to 4 p.m. in the Main Gallery at 22 Marine Street. Admission is free.

Fundraising efforts for the TOUCH St. Augustine Art Garden and Art Center renovations have been underway since January. A matching gift challenge by the Bradley/Mayer family raised the first $100,000 for the project. The St. Augustine Art Association is currently conducting a campaign to raise the remaining $100,000.

For those interested in supporting the project, tribute gifts are available, and all donations are tax-deductible. For more information or to make a donation, call (904) 824-2310 or go to www.touchstaugustine.com.

Photo credits: © 2014 Historic City News contributed photograph by Alicia Gray

(l to r: John Regan, City Manager, Nancy Sikes-Kline, Vice Mayor, Carl Halbirt, City Archaeologist, Lorri Lassiter, STAAA Secretary, Diane Bradley, STAAA President, Gigi Allen, STAAA Treasurer, Don Robbins, STAAA Board Member, Jeremy Marquis, Marquis-Halback, Ryan Cornelison, Corner Construction)

Savannah Lindberg, FSDB 3rd grade student, reads the “Father Camps” statue Braille marker at the Cathedral Basilica during the recent unveiling of the TOUCH St. Augustine Braille Trail.