Augmenting Inclusion
Costume for All: An Inclusive Exhibition
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Margarida Valente, Marta Frade
Developed in partnership with the Portuguese Costume Museum, The “Costume for All” project aims to make the Museum's permanent exhibition, "Costume from the 18th Century to the Present", accessible to people with visual impairments, as well as to enable a multisensory experience for all visitors. This is achieved through the creation and presentation of various inclusive tools, which are included throughout the exhibition course and which all visitors will be allowed to handle: re-creations of historical costumes from some of the periods portrayed in the exhibition, which will be produced according to historical techniques and with historically adequate materials; a fabric sampler with Braille and large-print labels, and embossed ColorADD symbols that allow for accessible colour distinction; and an audio guide.Making these tools available eliminates the need for "special" visits for people with visual impairments, promoting inclusion in the context of autonomous visits to the museum. Also, any visitor will be able to experience the exhibition through the sense of touch, regardless of whether there are visual impairments.
Art and Visual Disabilities: Creation of Tactile and Digital Paths for Inclusive Access to Cultural Heritage
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Lucia De Maio
Ensuring accessibility to museum heritage for people with disabilities is crucial to guarantee equal opportunities, social inclusion, and human rights. Everyone should have the chance to participate fully in culture and art, regardless of their physical, sensory, or cognitive abilities. The objective of this research is to examine the legislative, cultural, and social factors that affect the ability of visually impaired individuals to appreciate cultural heritage. The aim is to identify methods for eliminating obstacles and, in partnership with stakeholders, testing tactile and digital pathways. The project expands and enriches the solutions developed in the 'Umberto Scerrato Oriental Museum: welcoming, sharing, including a proposal for the Oriental museum system' project. It will analyze the effects of good practices in Italian and international museums and identify the multiple psycho-rehabilitative functions of aesthetic education. In Italy, the Omero Museum is a pioneer in making museum heritage accessible to the blind. It was the first tactile museum in Italy and was founded by Aldo Grassini and his visually impaired wife, who shared a dream of creating a museum where touching was not forbidden. I was to participate in a study day on art and multisensoriality held here. Aldo Grassini himself presented the works, accompanied by Trasatti and Socrati. Various museum directors, as well as representatives and artists also participated. The day can be summarised as a rebellion against the imperialism of the eye. From a position of national excellence, I am now exploring international opportunities.
Inclusive Learning Environments through Integrated Design: A Case Study of Kandinskij’s Art in Augmented Reality
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Tommaso Santilli, Catia Giaconi, Simone Betti, Lorenzo Virgini
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) sets forth the right to access education and cultural life for all people, including those with disabilities. In educational contexts, such an approach ensures the provision of multiple means and channels to express knowledge and engage learners at all levels, embracing diversity to the greatest extent possible. The recent development of eXtended Reality (XR) technologies has offered innovative means to achieve inclusion within and outside formal learning environments. However, one might question their use for educational purposes in terms of accessibility and usability, given the scarce provision of application guidelines for schools, museums and cultural institutions to unveil related opportunities, criticalities and best practices. In these challenging scenarios, this study aims at deepening the understanding of educational XR technologies by illustrating the design, development and preliminary UX evaluation of an AR-based interactive didactic installation that reproduces Vasilij Kandinskij’s painting “Succession” (1935). The installation, consisting in a multisensory interface, combines tactile, visual and auditory stimuli, implementing AR in the theoretical frameworks of special pedagogy and behavioural geography. By presenting the conceptual and practical implications of the designed interface, this research provides in-depth insights on the potentials and limits of AR to support inclusive processes in schools and museums, indicating how special pedagogy and behavioural geography can inform design practices to increase access to knowledge and culture. Future research could focus on the application of the integrated design in other disciplinary contexts or topics.
Building Inclusive Spaces: Cultural Institutions for All
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Susana Rojas, Josep M. Sanahuja
This work is part of the Erasmus+ project "Promoting Social Inclusion for All through Art Education: Development of Support for Students with Disabilities - INARTdis." Cultural and socio-educational institutions from North Macedonia, Germany, Portugal, Austria, and Spain participated in the three-year project. The project's goal was to promote inclusion through the arts, foster collaboration between educational and cultural institutions, and recognize the agency of individuals in vulnerable situations in improving artistic and cultural spaces. Specifically, we present here, on one hand, the evaluation of strengths and weaknesses identified by the participants (n=448) in cultural institutions; and on the other hand, the 8 inclusive artistic projects developed with the involved cultural spaces (n=12). In both phases of the project, creative and artistic research techniques (theater, dance, or visual arts) were used. According to the participants, it is crucial for everyone to have access to new and diverse learning environments beyond traditional settings. Additionally, cultural institutions should create initiatives and activities that are inclusive and open to all. These insights were documented in the Guide to Building Inclusive Cultural Spaces. The documentary "WE COME TO CREATE. CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS FOR EVERYONE" shows the processes and outcomes of the eight projects developed: Architecture of Life, Nature: An Inclusive and Sustainable Project, (Dis)connected Bodies, Relics and Reliquaries, Collective Aspirations, Diverse and Empowering Fashion, Share Your Emotions, and Traces. These projects stem from this collective vision with two purposes: to create more inclusive artistic and cultural institutions and to support others on socially relevant topics.
