Touching the Future

Touching the Future aims to kickstart the Protactile movement in Scotland. It is funded by the University of Edinburgh and Creative Scotland, with support from Arika, a Scottish political arts organisation striving to support connections between artistic production and social change. Touching the Future came about due to a fortuitous meeting between Isabelle McGrath, a Scottish DeafBlind teacher, leader and activist, and the main promotor of Protactile in Scotland, and Dr Gabrielle Hodge, a sighted Deaf linguist at the University of Edinburgh in late 2024. We secured funding to bring Protactile experts John Lee Clark (USA), Dr Soline Vennetier (France) and Lisa van der Mark (The Netherlands) to Scotland in April 2026. We are joined by Jordan Goldman, a Canadian Co-Navigator, and Kyle Bettley, a Scottish Co-Navigator, in this endeavour.

Living and working on the sovereign lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. I pay my respects to Elders past and present. A percentage of my monthly income goes to Pay the Rent.