Eleventh International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

We experience the world around us through visual language. The digital revolution has even elevated the amount of images we see on a daily basis and emojis have become our universal language. Although artworks are at the core of the museum, wall texts are still the main entrance into the world of exhibitions. We use words to describe what we see in museum galleries, however, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. Why do museums still focus on text when the visual has become increasingly important? Museums can be ideal places to enhance and stimulate visual literacy. Often, museums are places where knowledge is transferred to the visitors, however, connections can be created between the experiences and knowledge of the visitor and the artworks. Focusing on visual literacy stimulates inclusivity. You don’t have to be an expert in a particular topic, or absorb the art historical information to be invited into the club. Focusing on visual literacy breaks down the barrier and stimulates dialogue. In M-Museum Leuven (Belgium) we collaborated with academic partners who have experience in creating a competency model for visual literacy in the class room. The big challenge was to translate this theoretical model into interpretation tools that have the same effect in the museum galleries. This new approach changed the way we work in the museum, breaking the silos between the curatorial and education department and creating the need to continuously evaluate the interpretation tools - a practice worth sharing.