Beyond the Visual: Blindness and Expanded Sculpture
Lead Research Organisation:
University of the Arts London
Department Name: CCW Grad School
Abstract
The proposal is for an exhibition and public engagement activities that will explore how contemporary sculpture facilitates sensory engagements beyond the visual. The exhibition is programmed for the main galleries at the Henry Moore Institute (HMI) for 2025-6, and will be preceded by a research season and an extended consultation process. While we identify blind and partially blind people as a primary audience, the proposal is not an exhibition for the blind, but rather sets out not to exclude an audience marginalised by exhibitions where beholders are unable to touch or interact with the works. The exhibition, entitled Beyond the Visual, aims to enhance the tactile and non-visual sensory engagement of all audiences, consistent with Georgina Kleege's arguments about the wider cultural value of 'what blindness brings to art' (Kleege 2018). This constitutes an innovative form of knowledge exchange which reverses established trajectories and underpins our attitude to a whole range of public engagement activities (delivered, collaboratively, by blind and non-blind practitioners). We will also address the underrepresentation of blind and partially blind artists in existing sculpture archives (including those held by HMI), and will compile a database of sculptural works by blind artists, alongside works by non-blind artists explicitly addressing the affordances of blindness in relation to sculptural practice. We will also revisit the 'tactility versus opticality' debate within sculpture, and in so doing the exhibition seeks not only to be an exemplar of inclusivity-confronting prohibitions on touching works-but to counter the notion of touch as merely a 'compensatory' sense in the absence of vision. The project will therefore conduct new research into the relation between sculpture, touch and blindness, and in so doing re-evaluate what kind of entity sculpture is.
| Title | Installation, Towards New Worlds exhibition, MIMA, Middlesborough |
| Description | This exhibition included an installation by project C0-I, Aaron McPeake, as part of the major Towards New Worlds exhibition at MIMA, Middlesborough, July 2024 - February 2025. The remit of the exhibition is described by MIMA: 'The exhibition explores a rich variety of human perceptions and sensory experiences through works of art, which make connections between the artists' internal worlds and their external environments. The artworks consider issues in the contemporary world, including justice, ecological consciousness, connectivity and care. Each of the artists involved is disabled, D/deaf and/or neurodiverse. The artists interpret their own perspectives, offering new insights for those encountering their work while recognising that we can never fully inhabit someone else's experience.' McPeake exhibited eleven interactive bell bronze works at the gallery which beholders were invited to touch and ring the works. This is ability to touch and sound works was a first at the gallery. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | The exhibition was accompanied by a public programme of research and engagement events. A series of events and digital outcomes was platformed in association with Disability Arts Online. A review by Katie Tobin writes: 'Towards New Worlds, currently on view at the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, opens a request: 'You are invited to strike and touch the bells'. It's a simple yet powerful summons - one befitting of an exhibition that aims to redefine not only how we experience art, but how it might also bring us together.' |
| URL | https://mima.art/exhibition/towards-new-worlds/ |
| Title | Sensing Vesuvius, and Sensing Naples |
| Description | These are two commissioned works, one sculptural, one a sound work, at Compton Verney gallery, a converted stately home in Warwickshire. The exhibition seeks to transport the beholder to Naples - where the scent of orange blossom drifts on the air and the spectacle of Vesuvius smoulders in the distance. Bringing to life the smells, sounds, sights, tastes and sensations of visiting this vibrant Italian city, the exhibition Sensing Naples will see the exquisite historic works in Compton Verney's Naples Collection rehung and reimagined. Interactive elements and new wall texts will foreground exciting new research into objects in the collection undertaken in collaboration with the University of Oxford and the Centre for the Art and Architectural History of Port Cities, Naples.The display will also feature two new contemporary sculptures by Aaron McPeake, commissioned in partnership with Unlimited (an arts commissioning body that supports, funds and promotes new work by disabled artists). The new works have been made by DYSPLA, a neuro-divergent led award-winning arts studio (and contributors to the Beyond the Visual symposium at the Wellcome Collection), and Aaron McPeake, an artist who makes sculptures that deal with his own experience of sight loss. Together these pieces offer new ways into the historic collection and the experience of visiting Naples for all. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | [Opening on 31 March] Audiences will involve general public, but also children and young people [ADD] |
| URL | https://www.comptonverney.org.uk/event/sensing-naples/ |
| Title | Sensory Garden Sculpture, Orpheus Centre, Godstone, Surrey. |
| Description | This work by project Co-I Aaron McPeake is an interactive sound sculpture, which is located within a Japanese Sensory Garden at the Orpheus Centre, a residential educational establishment for young adults with disabilities. The work was commissioned from the artist, and directly relates to the aims of the Beyond the Visual project, which informed the commissioning process . The permanent installation comprises a large 'wedding ring' shaped gong weighing circa 30kg and hangs in an oak sawhorse frame. Residents and staff can touch and sound the piece. The work was opened May 2024 by Sir Richard Stilgoe. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | The work engages senses beyond the visual, in the environment of a sensory garden. Feedback from the Orpheus Centre indicate that the work is considered to be therapeutic by both staff and students, as interaction generates a very resonant sound alongside the birdsong and sound of the spring water in the garden. |
| URL | https://www.orpheus.org.uk/ |
| Description | On advisory board for The Sensational Museum |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://sensationalmuseum.org |
| Description | Henry Moore Institute - Project Partner Beyond the Visual: Blindness and Expanded Sculpture |
| Organisation | Henry Moore Foundation |
| Department | Henry Moore Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Our role as PI and Co-I is to manage the project, and liaise with the HMI on delivery of workshops, the research season, public engagement activities and exhibition. We bring our expertise as PI and Co-I on a previous AHRC funded network, along with an established multidisciplinary network and existing research outcomes. We will act as co-curators in collaboration with Dr Clare O'Dowd, Research Curator at HMI. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Henry Moore Institute (HMI) will collaborate with the University of the Arts, London (UAL) as Partner Organisation and Subcontractor on the Beyond the Visual exhibition project. As partners in the initial AHRC funded network, HMI hosted one of the Beyond the Visual workshop events, the experience of which has had a significant impact on their practices. Increased awareness of the needs of blind and partially blind (B/PB) visitors has led to improved access and signage, the provision of audio description within their exhibition interpretation materials, and the inclusion of additional accessible and tactile resources within their engagement activities. HMI will contribute £45,000 towards the costs of making the exhibition fully accessible with tactile flooring, audio description and guides, accessible accommodation for artists and more. HMI recognise that achieving this will benefit all of ther audiences, and will offer visitors a completely different experience of sculpture. HMI is able to contribute a significant level of in-kind support across the three years of the project duration. This will include the following elements, totalling £252,500: Research Curator: development, project management and delivery of exhibition and research season: 282 days @ £300 p/d £85,600; Administrative support and events coordination: 141 days @ £200 p/d £28,200; Exhibitions Organiser/Registrar support: 141 days @ £200 p/d plus 28 days installation/de-installation (239.5 days total) £47,900; Engagement Curator: preparation and delivery of 5 events 10 days @ £300 p/d £3000; Technical Support and equipment for events: 6 days @ £200 p/d £1200; Room hire for events and engagement activity: 10 days @ £300 p/d £3000; Digital content production: 10 days @ £300 p/d £3000; Marketing and communications: 141 days @ £200 p/d £28,200; Web design: 8 days @ £250 p/d £2000; Exhibition invigilation and Front of House support: 6 days per week, 4 staff members @ £100 per shift for 126 days £50,400 |
| Impact | First consultation workshop (held at Leeds Art Gallery), 31 January 2024 Other outcomes are forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Consultation workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The one-day workshop, was the third of 3 consultation workshops in order to inform the curatorial process, held in the Henry Moore Lecture Theatre at Leeds Art Gallery, 22 May 2024. It was attended by 25 people, including curators, artists, disability activists/advocates, educators, accessibility officers/experts, and members of a local group of blind artists. The format of the workshop was informal, roundtable discussions. The theme was 'audio description', in relation to the forthcoming Beyond the Visual exhibition at the Henry Moore Institute, November 2025 to March 2026. Presentations included one by Alison Eardley, PI of the AHRC funded project Workshop for Inclusive Co-created Audio Description, and Joe Rizzo Naudi, discussing the process of generating audio description for the exhibition Ensemble at APT Gallery. Drawing upon the considerable experience of blind practitioners and experts in audio description, the session discussed alternative approaches that integrate inclusive audio description into the exhibition at HMI. The discussion was invaluable for thinking the curatorial process, with strong suggestions as to how integrate audio description into the creative process. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Consultation workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The one-day workshop was the first of 3 consultation workshops in order to inform the curatorial process, held in the Henry Moore Lecture Theatre at Leeds Art Gallery. It was attended by 21 people, including curators, artists, disability activists/advocates, educators, accessibility officers/experts, and members of a local group of blind artists. Faye D'Evie (a partially blind artist based in Australia) gave an initial presentation via Zoom. The format of the workshop was informal, roundtable discussions. The theme was general multisensory approaches to an exhibition that sought not to exclude blind audiences, including integrating accessibility at all levels. This included approaches to the exhibition space, integrating navigational devises and audio description, and accessibility in relation to HMI's building and the surrounding area. The discussion was invaluable for thinking the curatorial process, with strong suggestions as to how the building might be made more welcoming for a blind audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Consultation workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The one-day workshop was the second of 3 consultation workshops in order to inform the curatorial process, held in the Henry Moore Lecture Theatre at Leeds Art Gallery. It was attended by 25 people, including curators, artists, architects, disability activists/advocates, educators, accessibility officers/experts, and members of a local group of blind artists. The format of the workshop was informal, roundtable discussions. The theme was 'object handling' in relation to the forthcoming Beyond the Visual exhibition at the Henry Moore Institute, November 2025 to March 2026. Drawing upon the considerable experience of blind practitioners and those organising touch tours for the blind, the session discussed approaches to integrating object handling within an exhibition where all works can be handled. The discussion was invaluable for thinking the curatorial process, with strong suggestions as to how to curate and invigilate and exhibition where all works could be touched. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Early career symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Sensory Innovations and Creativity in the Arts was an early career research symposium attended by 55 people, held at the Henry Moore Institute on 27 November 2024, 10:30-18:00. The symposium set out to explore ideas of 'disability gain' and 'blindness gain' in the arts. Focusing on early career researchers, the symposium investigated how an expanded approach to the senses can creatively explored across different art forms. From an open call for papers, we received 45 applications from which 9 were selected: Dr Rachel Carney (Ekphrastic Inquiry as Cultural Democracy: Museum Visitors Engaging with Art through Creative Collaboration), Ayesha Chouglay (Creative ways of accessing and responding to rural landscapes, and other stories), Stephanie Farmer/Hettie James/Joseph Rizzo Naudi (Ensemble: audio description as art form), Gill Crawshaw (The languages of disability: Audrey Barker's multi-sensory installations), Sasha Galitizine (Behold! (a show about touch): experiments in multi-sensory mediation), Lara Schumacher (Nose ahead - sensorial inclusivity and the ephemeral of olfactory sculptures) , Annaliese Wren (Challenging visual-centric interpretations of sculpture in UK Copyright Law), David Johnson (Anamnesis: the re-membered body), and Tom White (Haptic technology and the listening body). The resulting discussions engaged multiple approaches to the notion of 'disability gain', from multi-sensory installations to exhibitions comprising audio descriptions, the role of smell in installation art to the use of poetry in gallery contexts, the idea of a blind aesthetics to limitations in UK copyright law. A recording can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aczeLcD5mnM. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://henry-moore.org/whats-on/sensory-innovations-and-creativity-in-the-arts/ |
| Description | Keynote at Symposium, Sensing Space Differently, at Camberwell College of Arts |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Ken Wilder (PI) and Aaron McPeake (Co-I) gave the keynote presentation at the one day symposium Sensing Space Differently, at Camberwell College of Art, 26 February 2025. Other contributors to the symposium, selected from submitted papers, included Mark Ingham, Rebecca Adda, Simon Kinneir, Helen Stratford, Serafina Min and Eleanor Bowen. 80 people attended the conference, which set out to ask: what is gained when we start to think of sensing space through a diversity of bodies with different sensory acuities? Feedback from the symposium emphasised the richness and diversity of presentations. The event also raised the profile of Beyond the Visual with a London-based audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sensing-space-differently-tickets-1217609375419?aff=oddtdtcreator |
| Description | Moulding and casting workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 12 family members and children (8-16) attended a hands-on making workshop exploring basic casting techniques, under the guidance of partially blind artist Aaron McPeake (Co-I of Beyond the Visual). The 10:30-13:00 workshop was held on 01 November 2024, at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds. The participants created their own moulds and cast objects using various materials, including plaster and wax. The workshop emphasised engaging with materials through senses beyond sight. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://henry-moore.org/whats-on/moulding-casting-workshop-for-families-and-children/ |
| Description | Pewter casting workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 24 adults (over two days) attended two hands-on making workshop exploring casting techniques using pewter, under the guidance of partially blind artist Aaron McPeake (Co-I of Beyond the Visual). The 11:00-16:00 workshops were held on 02 and 03 November 2024, at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds. The participants created moulds turning everyday objects into tactile sculptures, using pewter and jesmonite. The workshop emphasised engaging with materials through senses beyond sight. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://henry-moore.org/whats-on/creating-tactile-objects-pewter-casting-workshop/ |
| Description | Project advisory board meeting (online) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was the first meeting of the project advisory board, held on 13 February 2024. The board included: Georgina Kleege (Retired Professor, University of Berkley, California) Laurie Britton Newell (Senior Curator, Wellcome Collection) David Johnson (An artist and PhD candidate at the Royal College of Art) Professor Hannah Thompson (Professor at Royal Holloway, University of London, and PI of AHRC funded 'The Sensational Museum') Dr Alison Eardley (Reader, University of Westminster, PI Developing W-ICAD as a means of enhancing equity, diversity and inclusion within museum digital audio interpretation) Dr Clare O'Dowd (Research Curator, HMI) Dr Ken Wilder (Reader, UAL, PI Beyond the Visual: Blindness and Expanded Sculpture) Dr Aaron McPeake (UAL, Co-I Beyond the Visual: Blindness and Expanded Sculpture) Kirstie Gregory (Research Coordinator, HMI) Jeff Rowlings (Head of Programme, Shape Arts) 4 members of the board are blind. The board's role is purely advisory. Ken Wilder, Aaron McPeake and Clare O'Dowd reported on progress of the project, summarising the first of the three consultation workshops on 31 January 2024. The board contributed to an extremely informative discussion about the project aims, including the research season and exhibition. The discussion highlighted the need for an intersectionalist approach, and that accessibility be embedded into all levels of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |