Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

2015

  • Work on this object began.

2016

  • Work on this object ended.

2017

2024

  • You found it!

SoundShirt

This is a SoundShirt. It was designed by Ryan Genz. It is dated 2015–16. Its medium is stretch microfiber fabric with laser-cut decoration and embedded with 16 mico-actuators.

SoundShirt translates the experience of listening to music for the deaf and hard of hearing into a physical and sensory experience that is felt on the skin. By embedding 16 sensors corresponding to each part of the orchestra—violin, cello, drums, etc.—into the fabric of a specially designed shirt, music is felt as an immersive experience of tactile sensations. SoundShirt is available at the Junge Symphoniker Hamburg, Germany.

It is credited Lent by CuteCircuit.

Our curators have highlighted 10 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Miniskirt
  • stretch microfiber fabric with laser-cut decoration and embedded with 16....
  • Lent by CuteCircuit.
  • 42.2017.2

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 66 × 50.8 × 2 cm (26 in. × 20 in. × 13/16 in.)

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Access+Ability.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/1158794693/ |title=SoundShirt |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=8 May 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>