Open Forum

I am working with a local university gallery to host a sensory focused exhibition. Exhibition design considerations will include lighting from the side and limitation of traditional fluorescents overhead, auditory inclusion for those seeking verbal descriptions, large text or braille labels. With insight into the challenges blind and low-vision visitors must overcome in order to view traditional exhibitions, the gallery will include an array of accessibility and sensory considerations. Inclusion of traditional media will be challenged by interspersed with traditional craft with textiles such as macrame. The exhibit also allows for the potential of education outreach by partnering with local art therapy programs for student lead tours of the exhibit working with local Society for the Blind and Visually Impaired. 
What other sensory inclusion exhibit best practices are there? Thank you for the ideas!! 

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Piper Hutson
Museum Curator
Wells Fargo History Museum - San Francisco
San Francisco CA
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Hello Piper, 

It sounds like you already have your narrative and objects identified, so I would start with a workshop to building out the full sensory inventory of your exhibition. Bring a team together (students, faculty, community members) and ask: "What does this (artifact, artwork, historical event, etc.) (smell like, feel like, sound like)?"  Depending on how didactic you want to be you can narrow down the experiences (this artwork is angular and sharp) or broaden (this WWI photograph of trench warfare smells like fear and a longing for home). As with all exhibitions, we cannot do everything, but we can make informed decisions when we know what is (and is not) available to us. 

When it comes to design, many visitors will select and seek out their own preferred sensory input. This is just as true of a visitor with visual impairment as without. Some people prefer to read, while others like to be told, while others still would rather touch/taste/smell. So, something to keep in mind is that if you are going to have one identified sensory interactive (like your tactile textiles), think of them as a narrative tool. How does this sensory pathway relate to and build off the narrative?

Some other thoughts, in no real order: If you are building this exhibit with the visually impaired in mind, be sure to consult with community members. They will be quick to tell you what does or does not make sense. When thinking about the senses, it's helpful to remember that we commonly refer to five categories, but inside each of these categories are many sub-categories (touch includes pressure, temperature, pain, flexibility, scale, space, balance). Also, and this is my pet project, it is always interesting to think about the associations of different sensory inputs to memory and lived experience. The better you define your audience, the more you can play with concepts of shared experiences. 

I'm excited to see what you all come up with. Please share when the exhibit launches!

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Cory Keester-O'Mills
Exhibits Developer
Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science
Miami FL
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It heartily agree with Cory! Great input. Let me emphasize consulting with the community. It's hard, but critical. While I can watch a program with the sound off and walk around blindfolded, this does not make me Deaf or Blind. It it comes nowhere near their lived experience. We should not try to guess because we can't. We must ask. Recruit an advisory group. Test all your ideas with this group. And ignore the advice of those of us who share your sensory experience of the world. ;)

Don't forget smell. Smell is a sense that is often taken for granted but it should not be overlooked. It matters to all of us, but more to some than others. Have you ever walked into a place and turned around and walked out because it smelled wrong? This can be especially problematic in exhibits because artifacts smell like artifacts, not the thing they are meant to represent, and that smell is often unpleasant. If you fill a room with stuffed animals, it may look interesting, but it will smell like death. This one is not easy, but it should be considered at least.

For an excellent overview of the complexity of human senses, I recommend "The Body" by Bill Bryson. For a brilliant examination of how senses shape our world view, I recommend "An Immense World" by Ed Yong. Yes, this one is not about humans, directly, but it is about how impossible to share the lived experience of any creature that does not share our sense of the world.

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Tod Hopkins
Technical Director
Hillmann & Carr Inc.
Washington DC
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-02-2022 08:59 AM
From: Cory Keester-O'Mills
Subject: Sensory exhibitions

Hello Piper, 

It sounds like you already have your narrative and objects identified, so I would start with a workshop to building out the full sensory inventory of your exhibition. Bring a team together (students, faculty, community members) and ask: "What does this (artifact, artwork, historical event, etc.) (smell like, feel like, sound like)?"  Depending on how didactic you want to be you can narrow down the experiences (this artwork is angular and sharp) or broaden (this WWI photograph of trench warfare smells like fear and a longing for home). As with all exhibitions, we cannot do everything, but we can make informed decisions when we know what is (and is not) available to us. 

When it comes to design, many visitors will select and seek out their own preferred sensory input. This is just as true of a visitor with visual impairment as without. Some people prefer to read, while others like to be told, while others still would rather touch/taste/smell. So, something to keep in mind is that if you are going to have one identified sensory interactive (like your tactile textiles), think of them as a narrative tool. How does this sensory pathway relate to and build off the narrative?

Some other thoughts, in no real order: If you are building this exhibit with the visually impaired in mind, be sure to consult with community members. They will be quick to tell you what does or does not make sense. When thinking about the senses, it's helpful to remember that we commonly refer to five categories, but inside each of these categories are many sub-categories (touch includes pressure, temperature, pain, flexibility, scale, space, balance). Also, and this is my pet project, it is always interesting to think about the associations of different sensory inputs to memory and lived experience. The better you define your audience, the more you can play with concepts of shared experiences. 

I'm excited to see what you all come up with. Please share when the exhibit launches!

------------------------------
Cory Keester-O'Mills
Exhibits Developer
Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science
Miami FL
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