by David Kožuh.
In modern society, there is an increasing need to overcome obstacles for people with disabilities. Therefore, Museums are committed to ensuring equal access for all vulnerable people. In Slovenia, museums are actively working on accessibility for blind and visually impaired people, including the Goriška Museum (Goriški muzej) which is about to complete the project “Art beyond the visible”.
The project, launched in June 2023, connects museums, artists and various institutions. The exhibition, which will open on March 21, will be divided into two sections: “The Existing World” will present examples of good practices from Slovenia and Italy, while “The Nascent World” will showcase experimental collaboration between artists and blind people on adapting artworks.
The existing world
In the first part of the exhibition, copies of adapted to be touched artworks will be exhibited, they will allow us to learn about the history of art from ancient Greece to the present day. Almost half of the copies and bas-reliefs were borrowed by two Italian museums, the Omero Museum in Ancona and the Anteros Museum in Bologna. Visiting and collaborating with these museums helped us to understand the best practices in the field of tactile exhibitions. The Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana and two Italian high schools also joined the project. An important role will be played by projects where students and pupils, helped by experts, will create copies of famous artworks.
The Nascent World
The second part of the exhibition will focus on an experiment that has involved Slovenian and Italian artists and a Croatian one since autumn 2023. In total 17 artists, from different artistic disciplines. Most of them are sculptors, some are painters, others are conceptual artists, and among them there is also a graphic artist. The materials used by the artists are very different from each other: travertine, pine, cedar, iron, bronze, aluminum, ceramics and other materials that give this part of the exhibition a unique tactility. For making all this, the artists adapted their creative process to obtain artworks suitable for touch. Before starting, they participated in workshops on blindness and low vision and allowed
blind people to touch their artworks. The process was also documented by the Academy of Arts of the University of Nova Gorica which will produce an accessible video of the exhibition using subtitles and sign language in three languages.
For blind people, subtitles, audio description of the video will be available in three languages.
Politeness and accessibility
We believe also politeness should play an important role in the success of this project. In collaboration with international partners such as the University of San Jose in the USA and the Faculty of Pedagogy in Maribor, we are planning to develop an inclusive pedagogical program. On the other hand, thanks to the
collaboration with the Faculty of Pedagogy of the University of Primorska in Koper, we will receive audio descriptions of the shown artworks in three languages.
The project “Art beyond the visible” aims to be an example of how collaboration between institutions, artists and communities can overcome the limits of traditional exhibitions and contribute to a better understanding and accessibility of art. Through education and collaboration, sustainable solutions will be created allowing equal access and enjoyment of cultural heritage for all the visitors.