The Tactile Media Alliance (TMA) emerged from a rich history of collaboration and innovation between practitioners. The Alliance evolved from the Tactile Arts and Graphics Symposia (TAGS) hosted by the National Federation of the Blind and regional partners, led by Ann Cunningham, Abigale Stangl, and Lou Ann Blake. These symposia addressed the inequitable access to learning materials, tactile graphic literacy, and art education for blind and visually impaired individuals.

Held between 2016 and 2017, the TAG Symposia brought together thought leaders, educators, artists, museum specialists, and technologists to explore and develop innovative solutions in tactile media. These events were instrumental in creating a community dedicated to advancing tactile literacy and accessible educational and artistic experiences.

The symposia provided a platform for sharing knowledge, engaging in hands-on activities, and discussing challenges and opportunities in tactile media. A summary of findings and links to related scholarship can be found at TMA.id.gatech.edu.

In 2023, Dr. Abigale Stangl joined Georgia Tech as an assistant professor, energized by this new platform and the support from HCR@Work/PhET’s.

Through this collaboration, TMA currently seeks to bring together international scholars, educators, practitioners, and technologists to collaborate on transformative projects and research, fostering cross-network collaboration and advancing research in inclusive, multimodal, and accessible teaching and learning experiences.

Just as tactile media serve as boundary objects, bringing together multidisciplinary teams and facilitating communication, collaboration, and innovation, the aim for the TMA platform, is to serve as a community-guided resource for supporting an emerging community of practice focused on touch-based and embodied interactions occurring physically and within the physical-to-digital-to-physical interaction paradigm.