museums Module 4 Unit 2 Chris taylor University of trieste

museums Museum definition: an institution devoted to the procurement, care, study, and display of objects of lasting interest or value. (Merriam Webster)

Types of museums You should be able to recognise types of museum, e.g. those displaying only 2D and 3D art.

Types of museums Other museums do not deal with art but with specific areas of knowledge.

Types of museums These latter museums also include local institutions: The Fan Museum, Greenwich; Museo dell'arte fabbrile e delle coltellerie (Museum of manufacturing art), Maniago, Italy.

types of museums Other museums exhibit both art and other artefacts, e.g. The Metropolitan Museum in New York.

Also architectural works Audio description has now moved on and out, not only to museums, but also to the description of buildings and other architectural works.

The modern Museum Over the years, and particularly more recently, many museums have been undergoing a transformation.

The contemporary museum A contemporary museum contains not only artefacts … Part of an inexorable rise in hybridity and complexity.

Hybridity 1 Store of artefacts and collections; Site for tourism; Place of research;

Hybridity 2 Place of entertainment and education (edutainment); Place of promotion and merchandising; Place of SERVICE – access for disabled.

Complexity 1 Guidebooks, audioguides, guided tours PLUS; Technological advance e.g. 3D productions, special effects; Educational programmes/lectures/courses;

Complexity 2 Club activities; Publications; Access - Audio Description/touch tours/multisensory approaches.

Leisure venues People have working models of what the museum experience affords. These affordances match public expectations and needs.

ACCess We can now begin to address the question of access, specifically access to museums for people with sight loss.

types of access A first option may be the provision of Braille versions of the captions displayed by each artefact, if the patrons are Braille readers.

access Large letter documentation is another option for patrons who are only slightly sight-impaired.

access Audio description (AD) is perhaps the most useful form of access, and this is what we shall focus our attention on.

tactile exploration AD can be very usefully accompanied by tactile exploration, i.e. the patrons can touch exhibits (or models thereof) while listening to the AD.

tactile exploration Tactile exploration, which is not very effective on its own, can be accompanied by a recorded AD or by a human guide, experienced in this kind of access.

Linguistic compensation In the absence of sight, speech is essential to the integration of sensory input and therefore to perception. Speech is an effective replacement for directly experienced visual input. (Fryer, 2016)

recorded AD In the absence of a human guide, AD can be recorded on an audio-guide similar to those often available for sighted viewers.

AD production Once the need for AD in a museum has been established, many decisions need to be made.

AD production Secondly, the approach to the single exhibit must be thought out (again, describing every detail would be excessive, if not in many cases impossible).

AD production Thus the art/skill of museum AD needs to be studied and practiced.

museums Module 4 Unit 2 Chris taylor University of trieste

The preparation of this presentation was supported by ADLAB PRO (Audio Description: A Laboratory for the Development of a New Professional Profile), financed by the European Union under the Erasmus+ Programme, Key Action 2 – Strategic Partnerships, Project number:2016-1-IT02-KA203-024311. 

The information and views set out in this presentation are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Neither the European Union institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.