Today we’re featuring The Wolfsonian as the first in a series of customer showcases.
The Wolfsonian–Florida International University (or The Wolfsonian-FIU), located in the heart of the Art Deco District of Miami Beach, Florida, is a museum, library and research center that uses its collection to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design. The museum selected Freetouch for an interactive exhibit that is a key part of their ongoing Art for Justice exhibition.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, The Wolfsonian has increased efforts to keep our visitors safe,” shared Yucef Merhi, Former Curator of Digital Collections. “We were concerned about our use of touchscreens and other interactives that required handling, and I learned about the innovative software Freetouch was developing while researching touchless technologies. Freetouch is currently installed in one of our first-floor interactives, used by our visitors to access and navigate the Scottsboro Boys digibook, also available by simply scanning a QR code.”
The case of the 'Scottsboro boys'—nine Black youths falsely accused of rape in Alabama in 1931—ignited an international campaign to save them from the electric chair. The Communist Party U.S.A. took up their legal defense, organized mass demonstrations, and published pamphlets and magazines exposing the brutality of white supremacy. Art for Justice features an original manuscript of linoleum-cut prints illustrating the Scottsboro Boys' story within the longer arc of racial injustice and resistance in the U.S., as well as other artwork and publications dedicated to the struggle for civil rights in the 1930s.