Engaging aesthetically with tapa barkcloth in the museum

Abstract

Tapa barkcloth was a fabric replete with materialities of cultural and aesthetic values in 18th-and 19th-century Oceania. In the modern ethnographic museum, remote in time (and frequently space) from its origin, what remains to be appreciated cross-culturally? I think through a tripartite model here, in which certain aesthetic responses are taken as universal, others as shaped by cross-cultural materialities, and yet others as dependent upon the spatiotemporal contexts of creation and appreciation.

Creating Inclusive Object Narratives for Accessible Museum Exhibitions

“…This study supports Howes et al (2018), Mills (2018, and Krmpotich's (2020) findings that attribute multisensory and inclusive object examination to richer interpretations in material culture studies and the idea that suprasensory abilities go beyond abilities in sensory discrimination to include the life experiences and mental models of the world created by the perspectives that these abilities afford (Catteneo & Vecchi, 2011). In my study, the findings suggest that people who are blind can contribute to research in material culture studies by adding another dimension to multisensory object examination that ocularcentric researchers may not be able to relate to or appropriate.…”

“…The study's findings point to a possibility of a contribution to material culture studies whereby richer and more diverse narratives may emerge from the thematic analysis of the data derived from people's voices and which may perhaps challenge an object's dominant narrative. The research approach and subsequent findings that emerged echo prior studies that explored the use of cultural probes to gain personal insights (Woodward, 2016), multisensory and non-expert access to embrace social inclusion (Krmpotich, 2020;Peers & Krmpotich, 2014), and non-ocularcentric practices in sensory museology (Howes, 2014;Mills, 2018). In my study, the findings demonstrate how including people with congenital and early-onset blindness and expanding the multisensory practices to include people with distinct sensory abilities and experiences (Kupers & Ptito, 2014) can lead to alternative narratives.…”

“…Together, the findings suggest that object research sessions, which have been discussed in previous literature (Howes, 2014;Krmpotich, 2020;Mills, 2018;Peers & Krmpotich, 2014;Woodward, 2016) and processes for accessible exhibition development (Cachia, 2019;Chick, 2018;Hesseldahl et al, 2018;Laurentino et al, 2021;Osborne et al, 2014;Shimamura-Willcocks, 2011) may lead to findings that can help form the strategy to improve access through inclusive narratives for visitors with vision loss (Figure 30).…”

“…Non-visual mental models Woodward, 2016Howes et al, 2018Mills, 2018Shimamura-Wilcocks, 2011Cachia, 2019Hesseldahl et al, 2018Osborne et al, 2014Chick, 2019Laurentino et al, 2021 some of the complexity that may be encountered later on in the process when developing accessible exhibitions (Moreno & Villalba, 2018).…”