Rishika Kartik

About Rishika Kartik

My belief is simple: accessibility should be the norm, not the exception. Volunteering with the blind community since 2018 inspires my dream to make art, technology, and healthcare more inclusive. Through original research, grant-funded initiatives, hands-on projects, artwork/design, legislative advocacy, and public education, I work to turn that dream into a reality. As the founder of “Touch and Create Studios” and the “Vision of the Artist\'s Soul” project, I\'ve partnered with public institutions to increase access and created artistic and educational opportunities for blind people nationwide. I currently help underresourced patients access disability/social services as a Connect for Health Advocate at the Center for Primary Care, RI, support vision loss patients as a part of the ASPECT Patient Engagement Program, and conduct research to improve accessibility in healthcare. I was awarded the 2023 Royce Fellowship Award for my research on therapeutic art in blind communities and my TEDx talk has over 1 million views thus far. I\'m a 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholar, a Coca-Cola Scholar, a Live Más Scholar, and the recipient of the 2021 INSITE Grant, the 2020 Arts In Society Grant, and the 2021 Dairy Arts Center Micro-Grant. I\'ve been a selected speaker for institutions like Johnson and Johnson, Johns Hopkins University, Lifespan Corporation, Colorado Health Foundation, and CU Anschutz Medical Campus. My work has been featured by Forbes Magazine, KRDO, CBS Denver + more In my free time, I love teaching and writing! I\'ve created and co-taught two courses at Brown,\"Blindness, Arts, and Media,\" and \"Gerodesign.\" My writing has been published in papers such as Future Reflections Magazine and the Braille Monitor. I hope to continue exploring my interest in disability/medicine, and sharing my journey through my website, rishikastudio.com!

Experience

1. Founder

   University of Colorado Anschutz

   Aug 2020 — Present · Littleton, CO, US

   I founded TCS to provide opportunities for the blind and visually impaired community to experience arts and culture and advocate for equitable public spaces. I\'ve partnered with industry professionals, blind artists, and museums to host multisensory workshops, events, panels, and art showcases. TCS began specializing in tactile exhibitions/media and workshops, but has since broadened its reach to improve accessibility in schools and healthcare institutions. I have worked with the following organizations: Johns Hopkins University, MCA Denver, Pearson Education, Denver Art Museum, Clyfford Still Museum, Museo de Las Américas, Lifespan Corporation, CU Anschutz Medical Campus, University of Colorado Boulder, the Conference for Research on Choreographic Interfaces. I am mentored by Dr. Cheryl Fogle Hatch, Dr. Abigale Stangl, Matt Gesualdi, Debbie Kent Stein, Dr. Nazanin Heydarian, Dr. Penny Rosenblum, and Ann Cunningham.

Education

• Brown University

  Bachelor of Arts - BA

  2022 — 2026

• St. Mary's Academy- Englewood, CO

  High School Diploma

  2018 — 2022