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  • 1.  Accessible design study

    Posted 03-14-2017 10:35 AM
    Dear List Members,

    Could someone please point me toward published studies that demonstrate how accessible design, universal design, or inclusive design in an art museum improve the experience for all visitors? Anecdotal evidence is readily available, but I've not been able to track down a rigorous evidence-based study.

    Thanks!




    ------------------------------
    Lucas Livingston
    Assistant Director, Accessibility and Lifelong Learning
    Learning and Public Engagement
    Art Institute of Chicago
    ------------------------------
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  • 2.  RE: Accessible design study

    Posted 03-15-2017 11:19 AM

    Hi Lucas,

     

    If you find any evidence-based studies, could you share them with the larger group?

     

    Thank you!

     

    Rebecca

     

    Rebecca Granados
    Coordinator of Accessible Training and Education

     

    t 215-684-7606

    Philadelphia Museum of Art
    PO Box 7646, Philadelphia, PA 19101-7646
    www.philamuseum.org

     




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  • 3.  RE: Accessible design study

    Posted 03-15-2017 01:52 PM
    Hi Lucas,

    Great question! I actually interned at the Art Institute while I was writing my thesis on autism and art museums- my time there was very helpful to my studies. I have a wealth of articles from my years in accessibility. Creating accessibility for people with disabilities does in fact create a better experience for everyone. If you haven't already, I suggest getting involved with Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium (CCAC). It's a great way to share ideas and challenges with colleagues in the accessibility field and get their feedback. Here are articles/websites I use often for trainings:

    1. Blandy, D. (1994). Assuming responsibility: Disability rights and the preparation of art educators. Studies in Art Education, 35(3), 179-187. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1320219

    2. McLean, K. (1993). Planning for People in Museum Exhibitions. Washington, D.C.: Association of Science Technology Studies Inc.

    3. The National Committee*Arts for the Handicapped. (1983). Is there life after 504?: A guide to building and program accessibility from the children's museum, boston. Boston, MA: Second Printing.

    4.Smithsonian Guide to Accessible Exhibition Design: http://accessible.si.edu/pdf/Smithsonian%20Guidelines%20for%20accessible%20design.pdf

    I hope this helps!

    Best,
    Meredith

    ------------------------------
    Meredith Gregory
    Special Education and Access Coordinator
    New York Transit Museum
    Brooklyn NY
    ------------------------------

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  • 4.  RE: Accessible design study

    Posted 03-16-2017 08:56 AM
    Meredith -

    I would love to read your thesis.

    Kim Sheahan
    Spurlock Museum

    ------------------------------
    Kim Sheahan
    Asst. Dir. of Education
    W.R. & C.V. Spurlock Museum - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
    Urbana IL
    ------------------------------

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  • 5.  RE: Accessible design study

    Posted 03-16-2017 09:23 AM

    One of the most helpful books on the topic is quite old, but if you can get a copy, it is really good.  I highly recommend Part of Your General Public is Disabled:  A Handbook for Guides at Museums, Zoos, and Historic Houses by Janice Majewski (1987).

     

    Mary V. Thompson

    Research Historian

    ______________________________________

    The Fred W. Smith National Library

    for the Study of George Washington

    P.O. Box 3600 | Mount Vernon, Virginia 22121

    O: 703.799.8633

    mountvernon.org/library | @gwbooks

     




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  • 6.  RE: Accessible design study

    Posted 03-16-2017 09:45 AM
      |   view attached
    I wrote a brief paper on Technology and Accessibility as relates to the museum field and a project I worked on with colleagues to create a Virtual Access Tour. There might be some useful information for you in the paper and or in the reference section. Below is the abstract and attached is the full paper. 

    Mark 

    According to the American Alliance of Museums, a museum should not only strive to be inclusive by complying with accessibility laws and offering opportunities for diverse participation, but should also demonstrate a commitment to providing the public with both physical and intellectual access (AAM 2016). As part of the effort to inform the museum field of ways museums integrate accessible technology into their collections and programmatic interpretation, this paper provides an overview of the U.S. population with disabilities, a brief survey of some of the latest accessibility technologies used by museums and an outline of VMG’s development and implementation of its Virtual Access Tour.



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    Mark Osterman, Ed.D.
    Guiding Programs Manager
    Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
    Miami, FL 33141
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    Attachment(s)

    pdf
    Accessibility and Technology-osterman.pdf   286 KB 1 version
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  • 7.  RE: Accessible design study

    Posted 03-16-2017 10:59 AM
    Immodest as it may seem, I refer you to two self-authored publications:

    "Museum Accommodations for Visually Impaired People", Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, Vol. 77, No. 7, September,1983, p.330-333. (A publication of the American Foundation for the Blind).

    "Fixing What's Baroque: a Review of Baroque Art in the Seventeenth  Century  by Art Education for the Blind, Inc., and Paula L. Gerson", Museum News, Vol. 76, No. 2, March/April 1997, p.29, 60-62.

    Further, as a veteran museum professional, I would also recommend that you look at any publication you can find by the late exhibition designer Janet Kamien (Boston Children's Museum) and the late pathbreaking disabled consumer/educator Alice P. Kenney (published by the Association of State and Local History among other organizations).



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  • 8.  RE: Accessible design study

    Posted 03-16-2017 11:11 AM
    Your question is excellent and you are hearing from many of the people who have worked in this area of the museum field.  I hope that you look at the Fall 2015 issue of Exhibitionist (vol. 34, no.2), Creating a Inclusive Experience: Exhibitions and Universal Design.  While the NAMEJournal offers case studies on exhibition design and development, this issue also has retrospective studies (tied to the ADA25 theme) and excellent bibliographies. 

    Thank you for making your question into an open discussion.

    --
    Barbara Cohen-Stratyner, Ph. D.
    Suite 7C, 265 Riverside Drive

    The Genius of Geoffrey Holder is traveling again with Lincoln Center Education's Boro-Linc Initiative. The Library for the Performing Arts' tribute to the multi-talented actor, dancer, designer, and director can be seen at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning through May 30, 2017.  Take the E train to Parsons Blvd. & Jamaica Avenue.  http://www.jcal.org/exhibitions 

    If you happen to be in Seattle, there are Holder costumes and more images in Dance Theatre of Harlem: 40 Years of Firsts, at the Northwest African American Museum through March. 

     As Yip Harburg said, Song is the anodyne for humanity.  This is not the first time that American has needed song to re-instate its faith in democracy and diversity.  See "Laughter, agita and Rage:" Political cabaret in Isaiah Sheffer's NYC on-line at https://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/laughter-agita-rage.

     James Baldwin - You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. [Early Essays]



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  • 9.  RE: Accessible design study

    Posted 03-16-2017 10:56 AM
    Hi All,
    Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has done work on accessibility. I don't have the specific citation, but check them out. Also, The Whitney Museum in NYC has an accessibility department. Rebecca McGinnes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is manager of accessible programs. Not all useful studies are in the public domain, so ask around. For example, Beth Ziebarth at the Smithsonian has been at this for a long time.

    You can look for studies on informal science.org--papers you will find there are not all about science, and even those about science may have relevance to art museums. 

    Two separate groups have done work on talking tactile exhibits for blind and low vision visitors (Rebecca Fuller and Steve Landau two distinct organization principals). Those exhibits, for which I did the evaluation) proved to be very attractive for sighted visitors.
    Ellen

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    Ellen Giusti
    Independent Consultant
    New York NY
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