Group Exhibitions
speechless: different by design
Dallas Museum of Art
High Museum of Art
Dallas, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia
November 10, 2019 – March 22, 2020
Curated by Sarah Schleuning
Images Courtesy of the Dallas Museum of Art
speechless: different by design was a groundbreaking exhibition that challenged visitors to rethink how we perceive and interact with the world. A collaboration between the Dallas Museum of Art and the High Museum of Art, the show invited six international designers and design teams to create multisensory installations that explored communication beyond spoken language.
We were honored to be among the invited artists, and our contribution marked a bold evolution in our practice. This was one of the first times we were asked to consider sensory accessibility at the core of our work, collaborating with scholars, scientists, and community members to create an installation that could be touched, heard, and experienced in unconventional ways.
Our room, titled Scroll Space, consisted of a domed, fabric-wrapped environment lined with soft panels filled with more than 400,000 hand-sewn scrolls. The space was immersive and intimate—visitors removed their shoes and entered a quiet, sensorial cocoon where they could sit, touch, and explore the tactile landscape. The scrolls, made from repurposed textiles and stitched by hand, represented the voices of thousands who had participated in Scrollathon workshops over the years.
One of the key elements of Speechless was the idea that communication is not one-size-fits-all. Many people experience the world through sound, others through touch, motion, or vibration. We wanted to build an artwork that felt inclusive—that communicated memory, emotion, and story without relying on words.
Speechless was curated by Sarah Schleuning and developed through a research-driven process. Each artist collaborated with neuroscientists, engineers, and accessibility experts to explore the intersection of design and the human experience. For us, the experience deepened our understanding of how art can connect people of all abilities, backgrounds, and perspectives.
Our installation became a space of calm, reflection, and connection. It was a celebration of handwork and memory, a place for sensory exploration, and a powerful reminder that art can speak volumes—even in silence.
