Don’t Touch! Hands Off! Art, Blindness and the Conservation of Expertise

Candlin, Fiona

doi:10.1177/1357034x04041761

Cited by 61 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Museums are still regarded by many visitors as shrines, and so the opportunity to touch a relic can inspire the imagination and give the sense of an intimate encounter with the people historically related to the object (creator, user or owner) that can dissolve the barriers of space and time. Another dimension often ignored is the aesthetic pleasure caused by the experience of touching beautiful objects (Candlin, ; Spence & Gallace, 2008; Reeve, ).…”

Section: Multisensory Information and Disabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Redefining Access: Embracing multimodality, memorability and shared experience in Museums

Eardley¹,

Mineiro²,

Neves³

et al. 2016

Curator The Museum Journal

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The authors discuss the principles of "access for all" in museums, both physical and intellectual access. They explore this question of multisensory processing in neurologically typical individuals, and case studies of two Portuguese museums that experimented with implementation of an "access for all" approach to the presentation of their permanent collections. The study was designed with three phases: addressing architectural barriers to access, preparation of accessible information about space and objects, and testing of alternative formats to convey this information to learn how to meet diverse needs in different ways. Set in the context of research on multisensory learning, this article discusses why an access for all principle is a majority issue as well as a moral and legal concept. It discusses two case studies where an "access for all" museological approach has been applied to access to the collections, with differing success. The discussion focuses on how an "access for all" approach could enhance learning, long-term memorability and the 'cultural value' of a museum experience for all visitors.

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Section: Multisensory Information and Disabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Redefining Access: Embracing multimodality, memorability and shared experience in Museums

Eardley¹,

Mineiro²,

Neves³

et al. 2016

Curator The Museum Journal

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“…In other words, it centres around museum photographs and their relationship to knowledge that is inherent in the things people do and feel. My work ties in with developments in the museum field in the last three decades, as some museums started to integrate multi-sensory experiences into exhibitions, while others employed multimedia installations to engage with audiences (Candlin, 2004, Wood and Latham, 2011, Binter, 2014, Clintberg, 2014, Gadoua, 2014. Methods have included audio guides, interactive displays, guided tours and even extend to more subtle methods like the employment of scents and smells within exhibitions (Howes and Classen, 2013).…”

Section: The Corporeal Turnmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making sense: Experiential engagements with ethnographic photographs

Horn

2018

Mus. Soc.

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This article examines the role of embodied and performative knowledge in the museum environment, with a particular focus on ethnographic photographs. The study is based on the return of several hundred ethnographic photographs from the Sarawak Museum to Indigenous communities in rural Malaysia, where they had been taken by museum photographers from the early 1950s onwards. Aside from the oral narratives that emerged during the discussions and interviews, contextual knowledge was provided in embodied form. The return of the photographs to people in the source communities prompted the re-enactment of activities, retelling of stories and production of cultural heritage to which the photographs referred. Such embodied knowledge, defined as knowledge preserved through performance and embodied activities, relates to the multi-vocal narratives about objects that museums are increasingly trying to include in their exhibitions. In this article I argue for a greater and more experimental use of sensory means to convey information about artifacts to museum audiences.

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“…Modern museums have been portrayed as ‘museums of sight’ and few could deny that the gaze is highly prioritised in their spaces (Classen and Howes , p. 200; Howes and Classen ). Shaped like ‘places of visual consumption’ (Gere , p. 61), museums impose strict prohibitions to other sensorial practices and experiences (Candlin ; Classen , p. 895). Precisely because of this attitude (deeply embedded within a long Western philosophical tradition of visualism, see Classen , p. 402; , p. 895; Classen and Howes , pp.…”

Section: Museums and Sensorial Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying Accessibility Barriers in Heritage Museums: Conceptual Challenges in a Period of Change

Papadimitriou

Plati

Markou

et al. 2016

Museum International

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Museums are changing fast, yet they still need to respond to the challenges posed by a society that changes at an even faster pace. Human mobility, multi‐culturalism and increasing economic assymetries create an environment, in which the role of museums as public spaces emerges as particularly complex. In this paper, we discuss issues of social inclusion in heritage museums from a conceptual point of view. In particular, we examine the conceptual barriers posed to accessibility and participation by current spatial, communicative, social and sensorial approaches in museum practice and suggest possible ways to shift such obstacles. Some of these ways may necessitate paradigmatic changes in museum policies. The paper draws on various aspects of social and communication theory.

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Don’t Touch! Hands Off! Art, Blindness and the Conservation of Expertise

Abstract: NB The citation for the publisher's version can be removed -it only has to appear once on the cover sheet.

Cited by 61 publications

References 8 publications

Redefining Access: Embracing multimodality, memorability and shared experience in Museums

Redefining Access: Embracing multimodality, memorability and shared experience in Museums

Making sense: Experiential engagements with ethnographic photographs

Identifying Accessibility Barriers in Heritage Museums: Conceptual Challenges in a Period of Change

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