MOMus - Museum of Contemporary Art

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Description

Event:

Mind’s Eye - Opening Arts to the visually impaired 2019/20

Target group:

• People with vision impairments

Purposes:

• A new way of experiencing art • Social and cultural inclusion, engagement, equality, and accessibility in art experience for people with vision impairments

European initiative reference:

N/A

Info

Greece

Space Needed: Small

Activity:

The MOMus - Museum of Contemporary Art - is charged with promoting contemporary art and the study of art movements in Greece and abroad through the preservation and promotion of its achievements, mostly in the visual arts.

Contact

tel.: (+30) 2310 240002 fax: (+30) 2310 281567 mail: info.contemporary@momus.gr

Website

Strengths

A wider selection of products and activities
New way of experiencing art
Networking with niche associations
Engagement of new audiences
Social relevance of the initiative and museum
Replicability and upskilling of the initiative

Weaknesses

High skills required for the implementation and the management of the new applications
Costs for the implementation of innovative solutions
Difficulties in going beyond the niche

Digital Solutions

3D replicas
QR codes
Audio descriptions
Inclusive interactive catalogue

Methodology

To make 3D replicas of the museum collection, a professional 3D printer, preferably a resin printer, can be used. Audio descriptions can be associated with the replicas, which can also be recorded by the museum staff themselves. To realise the catalogue in Braille, simply send the cards and descriptions of the works to a company that will transcribe and print them in Braille.

Resources needed and start-up costs

Professional 3D printer: from 2,000 euros
Post-cure UV lamp (for 3D printer): from 800 euros
Cleaning Station (for 3D printer): from 500 euros
Braille catalogue: 1/1.50 euro per page
Braille tactile map: from 5,000 euros
QR code: free on QR Code Generator

Possible low cost solution

Low-cost alternatives to the tactile map could be:

Printing braille maps to hand out at the entrance in the form of flyers;
Install a path with tactile flooring (about 20 euros for 3 metres of path) and record an audio guide that, besides describing the exhibition, accompanies the visitor along the way and announces possible junctions.

The price quoted for the 3D printer and its accessories guarantees a certain level of printing quality. However, it is possible to spend less by lowering the quality of the product. A cheaper 3D printer can cost as little as 200/500 euros; while, as far as the cleaning station and UV lamp are concerned, 2-in-1 machines can be found for as little as 100/150 euros.
Another option is to hire an external company to do the printing. This type of service, however, can be cheaper than buying the printer only if you need few 3D prints.

Transferable innovative principles and methods

1. Inclusive practices

Professionals from several scientific fields engaged with specialists from the visually impaired populations as part of the project to establish inclusive methods for artwork interpretation and accessibility in the museum environment.

The practices used as haptic-aural aids focused on eliciting tactile and auditory inputs that activated the “mind’s eye”.

Source: https://mindseye.gr

From January to June 2020, the applications were built, leveraging new media and technologies, and offering new ways of engaging and receiving art beyond sight.

Specifically, the implementation of the project has involved the installation of a series of pedagogical and interactive pilot applications:

Tactile maps
3D replicas through 3D printing technology and laser cut
Inclusive catalogue which entails texts in Braille, QR codes and audio descriptions
A set of interactive boxes, which carry a tactile aid for each artwork rendered in a smaller scale

2. Project-related services: Off Stream

The project is evolving into a new initiative: Off Stream. It was created with the vision to contribute to the strengthening of social cohesion and the equal participation of individuals and social groups, usually excluded from mainstream culture.

This is achieved through the development of innovative activities based on the leverage of the above-mentioned new technologies.