There are numerous initiatives around the world to make art and museums accessible to all: accessible to those with visual or hearing impairments, to those with mobility issues, but also those who simply don’t like museums, aren’t familiar with them and don’t visit them. We have looked around and come across some incredible projects. You can read about some of them here. This isn’t an exhaustive account; we’ve picked out the ones that have impressed us most and made us think.
Museum Hack, in New York, organises guided tours of museums for people who hate museums. Far from being joke, the project has received international attention. Museum Hack founder Nick Gray talks compellingly about the project in this TEDx talk. One Saturday night he was asked on a date at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and something incredible happened to him… he fell in love [not with the girl but with the art!].
Meanwhile, Tooteko is an Italian startup that has developed technology that allows people with visual impairments to enjoy works of art through sound and touch. Developed to make art accessible to those who can’t see, this project also gives sighted people a new way of engaging with art.
We have also been impressed by BAM Strategie Culturali’s ‘Adopt a non visitor’, aimed at those who DON’T visit the Galleria Nazionale di Parma. In order to reach and engage a new audience, it is necessary to know who that potential audience is.
Another great project is Palazzo Grassi Teens, which introduces teenagers to contemporary art, departing from the premise that young people love to learn but not necessarily in the way that we expect. By combining an actual visit to the museum with the peer-to-peer approach and digital technologies, teenagers become more than just visitors, they become part of the creative experience.
We, at ArtStories, have also thought carefully about audience development as we try to reach a new audience of children and families. We are particularly interested in engaging kids who are not accustomed to cultural tourism and a potential public that does not usually visit exhibitions and museums. This is why, in recent months, we have started developing a new series of educational apps and digital toys for children. These new apps are more like games than guides, more magical than educational. We’ve called them ArtStories4FUN.
Our aim – in all our work and also in this series – is to strike a balance between various elements. This is why, following a slightly different approach, our apps can be used to sow seeds of curiosity and instigate a desire to go deeper, to provoke a spark and introduce children to art and artistic and cultural heritage in a simple and enjoyable way. The first digital game of the new Art Stories 4FUN series is Art Stories CITIES. Have you played it yet? We can’t wait to hear what you think about it!
