BEYOND THE VISUAL: NON-SIGHTED MODES OF BEHOLDING ART
Lead Research Organisation:
University of the Arts London
Department Name: CCW Grad School
Abstract
The proposed research network will act as a forum for the discussion of non-sighted modes of beholding art, within the context of situated forms of contemporary art practice. It will question how a shift in the aesthetic engagement afforded by hybrid (intermedia) forms of contemporary art opens up new engagements for the partially sighted and blind community. Sound, smell and touch, for instance, have become an important factor in some installation art, while the discipline of sound art has expanded the spatial reception of the auditory. The network aims to develop a deeper understanding of the spatial and curatorial possibilities of such forms of engagement, and their potential application beyond the world of contemporary art.
The proposal is set against a background where the engagement of 'visual' art by blind and partially sighted beholders has primarily been addressed through questions of improving access to medium-specific forms of art, such as through audio descriptions and touch tours, or (more problematically) mediated forms such as 'tactile' paintings and 3D facsimiles. While in a post-pandemic situation access is an ongoing concern, a narrow focus on 'traditional' art does not register how intermedial/installation art has (i) fundamentally challenged ontologies of art, (ii) deliberately sets out to dehabitualise the beholder position, and (iii) challenges the notion of 'context independent' art. Addressing where the criticality lies in non-sighted modes of engagement, the proposition is that the engagement afforded a blind or visually impaired audience should be every bit as complex as that of sighted beholders.
This issue is pressing given the prevalence of the default white cube gallery situation and entrenched conventions of 'viewing' art. A deeper understanding of non-visual ontologies of art will not only widen participation to new audiences, but enhance the experience of non-sighted and sighted beholders. This will impact upon the design of galleries and museums - the types of spaces made available, such as their acoustic properties and embedded tactile cues - and attitudes to curating (where partially and non-sighted beholders are rarely treated as part of the core audience, despite the RNIB estimating that over two million people in the UK have visual impairment). This means challenging museum conventions of engagement which prioritise sighted audiences (such as the ubiquitous 'please do not touch').
This research network will facilitate an exchange of ideas that engages interdisciplinary thinking on the phenomenology of the non- or partially-sighted engagement of art. Crucially, it will engage the blind and partially sighted community and organisations that promote cultural opportunities for this audience, and those within institutions enacting policy around inclusion and access to (and the design of) museum/gallery environments. But it will also draw upon disciplinary insights from: cognitive science and psychology (i.e. non-sighted spatial orientation, and the interdependence of perceptual systems); the philosophy of art (the ontology of art and the aesthetics of reception); art and design practice (sighted and non-sighted artists making work where the engagement extends beyond the visual); theoreticians engaging critical disability studies.
The workshops and symposium will be organised around three key themes: (i) non-visual perception and orientation (such as sound/haptic localisation); (ii) architectural and spatial situations/contexts (rethinking the gallery situation); (iii) expanding art and curatorial practices (theorising new types of encountering art). The discussions will be transcribed and made available through the network's research website, and live-streaming will facilitate virtual participation. An edited book, organised around themes emerging from the network discussions, will be published at a later date, and made available as an audiobook and large format print edition.
The proposal is set against a background where the engagement of 'visual' art by blind and partially sighted beholders has primarily been addressed through questions of improving access to medium-specific forms of art, such as through audio descriptions and touch tours, or (more problematically) mediated forms such as 'tactile' paintings and 3D facsimiles. While in a post-pandemic situation access is an ongoing concern, a narrow focus on 'traditional' art does not register how intermedial/installation art has (i) fundamentally challenged ontologies of art, (ii) deliberately sets out to dehabitualise the beholder position, and (iii) challenges the notion of 'context independent' art. Addressing where the criticality lies in non-sighted modes of engagement, the proposition is that the engagement afforded a blind or visually impaired audience should be every bit as complex as that of sighted beholders.
This issue is pressing given the prevalence of the default white cube gallery situation and entrenched conventions of 'viewing' art. A deeper understanding of non-visual ontologies of art will not only widen participation to new audiences, but enhance the experience of non-sighted and sighted beholders. This will impact upon the design of galleries and museums - the types of spaces made available, such as their acoustic properties and embedded tactile cues - and attitudes to curating (where partially and non-sighted beholders are rarely treated as part of the core audience, despite the RNIB estimating that over two million people in the UK have visual impairment). This means challenging museum conventions of engagement which prioritise sighted audiences (such as the ubiquitous 'please do not touch').
This research network will facilitate an exchange of ideas that engages interdisciplinary thinking on the phenomenology of the non- or partially-sighted engagement of art. Crucially, it will engage the blind and partially sighted community and organisations that promote cultural opportunities for this audience, and those within institutions enacting policy around inclusion and access to (and the design of) museum/gallery environments. But it will also draw upon disciplinary insights from: cognitive science and psychology (i.e. non-sighted spatial orientation, and the interdependence of perceptual systems); the philosophy of art (the ontology of art and the aesthetics of reception); art and design practice (sighted and non-sighted artists making work where the engagement extends beyond the visual); theoreticians engaging critical disability studies.
The workshops and symposium will be organised around three key themes: (i) non-visual perception and orientation (such as sound/haptic localisation); (ii) architectural and spatial situations/contexts (rethinking the gallery situation); (iii) expanding art and curatorial practices (theorising new types of encountering art). The discussions will be transcribed and made available through the network's research website, and live-streaming will facilitate virtual participation. An edited book, organised around themes emerging from the network discussions, will be published at a later date, and made available as an audiobook and large format print edition.
| Title | Let Me Hear Your Footprints: Exhibition at Meet Factory, Prague |
| Description | The Let Me Hear Your Footprints exhibition was hosted by the MeetFactory Gallery, a non-profit organisation and leading contemporary arts centre in Prague, Czech Republic. The exhibition dates were 22 June - 11 September 2022. Co-I Aaron McPeake was invited to participate in the exhibition by curators Tereza Jindrová and Eva B. Riebová, through contacts in the Beyond the Visual network. Aaron McPeake (Co-I) was assigned a large gallery space, displaying ten sculptures and two films. Other artists included: Michaela Blažková and Ráchel Sklenicková in collaboration with Alžbeta Bacíková and Synth Library (CZ), David Escalona (ES), Elfa Björk Jónsdóttir (IS), Guðjón Gísli Kristinsson (IS), Joanna Pawlik (PL), Javier Téllez (VE). This was a trans-national exhibition funded by the peoples of Iceland, Lichenstein and Norway through an EEA grant. The exhibition itself focused on the richness of human perception and world exploration, especially with regard to human experience with various types of physical, sensory, or mental disabilities. The exhibited works thematise such experience and come from the praxis of artists who are either disabled themselves or cooperate closely with people with disability. There is a representation of neurodivergent, blind, purblind, and physically impaired artists/authors. The exhibition aimed to not only give others an insight into their living conditions and experiences but also emancipated them face to face with the ableist ideology which prevails in our society. On that account, the curators state that they avoided using the contrasting societal categorisations which stem from the terms "normal" (meaning "healthy" or "able") and "different". As the poetic title exhibition name implies, the exhibition expresses a wish to at least partially enter the specific experience of other people. It accomplished this using distinctive artworks which can activate various senses and thus mediate a unique experience through their mutual effects. Works exhibited by McPeake include: 5 Iceland bell-bronze 'paintings' of volcanic landscapes; the films A Sense of the World, and Losing a Sense of the World; 5 bell bronze volcanic rocks; 5 aluminium castings of volcanic rocks; a sound installation tiled Tinitus (a bell with 4 bronze repeatedly striking it); a bell bronze wooden spoon. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | As one of the leading contemporary arts centres in the Czech Republic, the Meet Factory has a large audience in both the Czech Republic and beyond, the significance of which is acknowledged by EEA funding. The international nature of the exhibition is indicated by the nationalities of the artists included. This was one of the first major exhibitions in the Czech Republic to foreground with artists with disabilities, and therefore was significant in changing attitudes around accessibility and creative arts practice. |
| URL | http://www.meetfactory.cz/en/press/promo-photo-events/at-zaslechnu-tve-stopy_let-me-hear-your-footpr... |
| Title | Once I Saw it All |
| Description | Once I Saw It All is a bell-bronze tactile/sound sculpture by the blind artist Aaron McPeake (Co-I) commissioned by the Wellcome Collection for the In Plain Sight exhibition, 20 October 2022 - 12 February 20223. The piece is a copy of a clinical Snellen Chart designed for eye testing at +6 metres. The work was suspended between floor and ceiling at eye height, and could be touched and rung. The art object was displayed along with other historic test charts, and alongside a first edition of Opticks by Isaac Newton. The work was shown in a section titled 20/20, which examines the measurements and methods of determining eye acuity. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Curated by Laurie Britton Newell and Ligaya Salazar (both network members), In Plain Sight was the second highest visited for any exhibition at the Wellcome Collection. [Reviews]. An image of Once I saw it All was included in the exhibition catalogue. This commission foregrounded the work of blind artists in a highly prestigious context we reached an extremely large public audience, helping to challenge expectations about the kind of work a blind artist makes. |
| URL | https://wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/Yv95yBAAAILuCNv6 |
| 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 | Subjective Accuity (2022) |
| Description | This was a two-part bell-bronze and print installation, referencing the Snellen Chart (used for assessing acuity in vision), by Co-I Aaron McPeake. This responds to hiss wider art practice, but also specific themes discussed as part of the Beyond the Visual network. The installation involved 4 new casts in bell bronze, and a photographic representation of the Snellen chart experienced with optimal vision and another print revealing the visual distortions as experienced by the artist. The installation formed part of an exhibition titled Layers of Vision, devised by Dr Katharina C. Husemann (King's Business School), Dr Anica Zeyen (Royal Holloway, University of London) and Dr Leighanne Higgins (Lancaster University Management School). The invitation to McPeake followed from the curators engagement with the network, and the exhibition itself was exemplary of inclusivity around visual impairment, benefitting from network discussions. All three curators active participants in the Beyond the Visual network, and collectively presented at the Wellcome Collection symposium. This work will also be displayed in Sweden in June 2023, at Lund University, AF-Borgen. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | 21 November - 16 December 2022, at Bush House |
| URL | https://layersofvision.org/exhibition/ |
| Description | (1) We have successfully established an interdisciplinary research network which has acted as a forum for broadening the discussion of non-visual modes of engaging contemporary art. Some 34 participants contributed to our workshop discussions at Tate Modern and the Henry Moore Institute, and 40 speakers/panel members contributed to our two-day symposium hosted by the Wellcome Collection, which was fully booked for both days. We are currently in the process of finalising and disseminating this material in the form of transcripts and podcasts. (2) One of the network's key findings is that constructive change with regards accessibility for blind and partially blind audiences requires wider consideration (beyond disability advocacy) of the gains of (i) multi-sensory engagements with art, and (ii) creative ways of describing art. This is consistent with what network member Hannah Thompson has termed 'blindness gain': where all audiences benefit from such a shift in thinking about what artworks do, a shift that is sensitive to diverse perceptual engagements. A key premise of the network was that engagements afforded blind and partially blind beholders should be every bit as complex as those of non-blind beholders, acknowledging that much works of contemporary art seek to destabilise and problematise our orientation towards the artwork. The discussions initiated by the network therefore raise profound questions as to what kind of entity artworks are, challenging existing ontologies of art. (3) The discussions have emphasised that we need to rethink accessibility as integral to the creative practice of artists rather than as an 'accommodation' of needs (consistent with network member Amanda Cachia's recent edited book Curating Access). The network has highlighted the role of blind and partially blind artists in actioning such a shift, and feedback from audience members at the symposium emphasised how exposure to such work has challenged and changed expectations and behaviours. Hosting the 3 network workshops at two major public galleries has ensured that our review and critique of current provision for a blind and partially blind audience has been heard by relevant parties tasked with advocacy for inclusivity in the museum and cultural sector. However, the networks findings have emphasised that as with creative practice, access needs to be integral, in design and provision, to the curatorial process and delivery (rather than only residing within a narrow definition of access). (4) Our partnership with Wellcome Collection is an example of what can be achieved when accessibility is considered integral to the curating process. This partnership emerged out of our networking activities, with Wellcome Collection contributing an estimated £44,200 of in-kind support. Wellcome Collection not only hosted our two-day symposium, opening up the discussions to a non-academic audience, but have crucially implemented a range of accessibility measures that mean that the exhibition In Plain Sight (where the network PI and Co-I acted as advisors) sets a standard for all other museums and galleries to follow. This collaboration with Wellcome Collection demonstrates that there is a direct link between interdisciplinary speculative discussions and practical applications which have a tangible impact for blind and partially blind beholders. |
| Exploitation Route | There are a number of outcomes that are forthcoming, and which will form a valuable resource for future research and researchers. By the completion of our funding we will make available to the public the transcripts of all 3 workshops, and a series of podcasts (currently in the production stages) from the symposium hosted by the Wellcome Collection. An open access publication proposal is in the process of been compiled, entitled Beyond the Visual: Multisensory Modes of Beholding Art. We have commitments from over 20 contributors (and are in discussions with an academic publisher), which includes chapters from leading international writers on blindness arts and blind and partially blind artists. The transcripts, podcasts and publication will provide an invaluable resource for future researchers. We have also submitted a funding application for an exhibition and research season hosted by the Henry Moore Institute (programmed for 2024-5), which will offer a testing ground for collaborative approaches to integrating access into the creative and curatorial processes. Part of this proposal is to compile an international database of blind and partially blind artists working in a sculptural medium, which will constitute a major curatorial resource for ensuring representation of artists with disabilities in future exhibitions. The exhibition will also imbed inclusive co-created audio description workshops, using the model being developed by Hannah Thompson, Alison Eardley, Rachel Hutchinson and Matthew Cock (all Beyond the Visual network members). |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other |
| URL | https://www.arts.ac.uk/research/current-research-and-projects/beyond-the-visual |
| Description | As indicated above, the network's findings have already informed the design of accessibility aspects to exhibitions such as the highly successful In Plain Sight at the Wellcome Collection, which had a significant footfall (the second most visited exhibition at Wellcome Collection). This exhibition included work by a number of blind artists that contributed to the network, while the network discussions were attended by many members of the public programming team at Tate and the Henry Moore Institute. Our ongoing collaboration with the Henry Moore Institute, and the planned Beyond the Visual exhibition programmed for 2024-5, will offer the opportunity to apply the network's findings at a major international venue, thus foregrounding multi-sensory sculptural work by blind and partially blind artists. The network findings will also inform the planned research season and associated public engagement activities. The non-academic impacts of the project have been crucial; the Wellcome Collection's offer to host our two-day symposium opened up the network discussions to a significant public audience, many of whom were blind or partially blind. The network's findings will be disseminated by partner organisations such as VocalEyes and Shape Arts, and the contribution by partner organisations will help further accessibility initiatives at other museums and cultural organisations. Finally, the proposed publication will become a key text within disability studies and its application to arts practice. Along with recent publications by network members Georgina Kleege and Amanda Cachia, and AHRC funded projects initiated by Hannah Thompson and Alison Eardley (plus others), this work might be said to open up a new research area which Thompson terms 'blindness arts'. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Description | Henry Moore Institute: Project Partner |
| Organisation | Henry Moore Foundation |
| Department | Henry Moore Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The PI (Ken Wilder) and Co-I (Aaron McPeake) initiated the collaboration with the Henry Moore Institute (HMI) during the period of writing-up the original submission, and HMI were listed as a partner organisation in the original application (submitting a partner letter of support). The PI and Co-I provided the intellectual framing of the project (informed by their previous practice collaborations as artists), along with an extensive multi-disciplinary network of potential participants bringing different expertise: a network which evolved during the course of the project itself. For the workshop hosted by HMI, the research team (i) established the schedule and intellectual remit of the events, (ii) invited all participants and identified their expertise in relation to the themes addressed, (iii) generated a series of prompts for the discussions, (iv) documented the hybrid workshop in video and audio recording, (v) generated transcripts of all the discussions (which are currently in the process of being finalised/proofread, and will be posted to the project webpages prior to the project completion on 14 April 2023). As a direct result of the collaboration, HMI have introduced new training around issues of accessibility, particularly with respect to signage and audio description for those with visual impairments. This training will afford tangible benefits to future audiences at HMI, beyond the timescale of the network itself. The collaboration will continue after the current project finishes; HMI are an integral part of the PI and Co-I's follow-up funding bid of £250,000 submitted to the AHRC Exhibition Fund bid (submitted in January 2023), acting as principal partner organisation and sub-contractor alongside our secondary partner organisation Shape Arts. This bid is for an exhibition entitled 'Beyond the Visual', scheduled for 2025-26, where the majority of artists exhibiting will be blind or partially blind. The exhibition (co-curated by Clare O'Dowd, HMI's Research Curator, Wilder and McPeake) will be accompanied by extensive public engagement activities and a research season prior to the exhibition. This exhibition and research season will be delivered regardless of AHRC funding, though the funding would allow significantly enhanced public engagement activities and the compilation of an international database of blind and partially blind artists making sculptural work. The partnership therefore has contributed to a major rethinking of HMI's policies towards inclusivity in relation to visual impairment. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Initial discussions were held with Laurence Sillars, Head of the Henry Moore Institute, in March 2020. As an international centre for research into sculpture, the theme of the project resonated with HMI's remit to make their exhibitions and collections accessible to the widest possible audience (including those with visual impairment). As a principal project partner, HMI's primary contribution to the project was to host an accessible workshop on 18 May 2022, which engaged the theme of expanding art and curatorial practices in relation to a visually impaired audience beyond the 'white cube' gallery situation. We worked very closely with HMI's Research Curator Dr Clare O'Dowd on the design of the workshop, which drew upon HMI's experience of hosting major sculpture exhibitions. HMI's in-kind support equates to approximately £1,200, which included the hire of the boardroom at HMI, staff time including technical and administrative support, coffee/tea/lunch for workshop participants, and help in disseminating the discussion through remote access. HMI's contribution to ongoing research is embedded in their scheduling of an exhibition and research season titled Beyond the Visual in 2024-25, working with PI Wilder and Co-I McPeake. |
| Impact | Beyond the Visual Workshop 3, The Boardroom, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, 18 May 2022 This output was multi-disciplinary: fine art theory and practice, architectural theory and practice, performance arts, curating, critical disability studies, cultural studies, disability activism/advocacy, audio description, philosophy, art education. Forthcoming output includes an exhibition and research season titled Beyond the Visual programmed for 2024-25, co-curated by Clare O'Dowd (HMI's Research Curator), PI Wilder and Co-I McPeake. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Tate: Project Partner |
| Organisation | Tate |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The PI (Ken Wilder) and Co-I (Aaron McPeake) initiated the collaboration with Tate during the period of writing-up the original submission, and Tate were listed as a partner in the original application (submitting a partner letter of support). The PI and Co-I provided the intellectual framing of the project (informed by their previous practice collaborations as artists), along with an extensive multi-disciplinary network of potential participants bringing different expertise: a network which evolved during the course of the project itself. For the two workshops hosted by Tate Modern, the research team (i) established the schedule and intellectual remit of the events, (ii) invited all participants and identified their expertise in relation to the themes addressed, (iii) generated a series of prompts for the discussions, (iv) documented the hybrid workshops in video and audio recording, (v) generated transcripts of all the discussions (which are currently in the process of being finalised/proofread, and will be posted to the project webpages prior to the project completion on 14 April 2023). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Initial discussions were held with Marcus Dickey Horley, Curator of Public Programmes at Tate, in January 2020. Marcus Dickey Horley has a particular focus on the furthering of inclusion and diversity, advocating for visitors with sensory difficulties including visual impairments. As a principal project partner, Tate's primary contribution to the project was to host two accessible workshops over the course of two days, 15/16 February 2022. Tate's contribution included extensive experience of running touch tours, audio-described tours, events and artist-led creative workshops for visitors who are blind or partially sighted (across all Tate's sites). Both the PI and Co-I greatly benefitted from attending these tours prior to the project's commencement. Marcus Dickey Horley was able to feed this experience into the workshop discussions, and also chaired one of the sessions at the symposium hosted by Wellcome Collection (see elsewhere). Tate's in-kind support equates to approximately £4,000, which included the hire of Tate Exchange's seminar space at Tate Modern, staff time, technical support, and help in disseminating the discussion through remote access. |
| Impact | Beyond the Visual Workshop 1, Tate Exchange Floor, Tate Modern, 15 February 2022 Beyond the Visual Workshop 2, Tate Exchange Floor, Tate Modern, 16 February 2022 Both outputs were multi-disciplinary: fine art theory and practice, architectural theory and practice, curating, critical disability studies, cultural studies, disability activism/advocacy, audio description, psychology, philosophy, cognitive science, art education. Forthcoming outcomes: Transcription of Workshops 1 & 2 (due April 2023) |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | VocalEyes: Project Partner |
| Organisation | VocalEyes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The PI (Ken Wilder) and Co-I (Aaron McPeake) initiated the collaboration with VocalEyes during the period of writing-up the original submission, and VocalEyes were listed as a partner in the original application (submitting a partner letter of support). The PI and Co-I provided the intellectual framing of the project (informed by their previous practice collaborations as artists), along with an extensive multi-disciplinary network of potential participants bringing different expertise: a network which evolved during the course of the project itself. VocalEyes acknowledge that the Networking Scheme has greatly benefitted the work of VocalEyes, connecting them with an extended network of organisations and individuals similarly concerned with developing inclusive practice around the creation and experience of art. The network, initiated by the PI and Co-I, feeds into the remit of VocalEyes's future initiatives with regards advocacy for blind and partially sighted audiences, and facilitates more effective support and advice to museums and galleries. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Initial discussions were initiated with Anna Fineman, Museums, Galleries and Heritage Programme Manager ay VocalEyes, in March 2020. From January 2022, our contact has been with Matthew Cock, Chief Executive of VocalEyes. VocalEyes's mission is to increase opportunities for blind and visually impaired people, particularly in relation to the arts and heritage sector; founded in 1998, it brings exceptional experience with regards to making art more accessible for this audience, particularly in relation to audio description. Matthew Cock was able to bring this experience to the discussions on the role of audio description as a creative practice, such as exemplars of theatre practice where description has been integrated into the work's conception, and the rehearsal period, rather than a postproduction add-on. Many other network contributors have worked with VocalEyes, including describers/trainers/advocates Sally Booth, Eleanor Margolies and Zoe Partington. VocalEyes has brought in-kind support to the project in terms of staff time (with Matthew Cock attending workshops, network meetings, and the symposium, where he was one of the presenters), publicising events and activities, and outcomes (such as forthcoming transcripts of workshops and podcasts from the symposium, and the publication). This support is estimated to be approximately £3000. |
| Impact | N/A. Outcomes for workshops and symposium are listed under other partners. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Wellcome Collection: Project Partner |
| Organisation | Wellcome Collection |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The PI (Ken Wilder) and Co-I (Aaron McPeake) initiated the collaboration with Wellcome during the project itself, such that Wellcome Collection became a partner after initial discussions in January 2022 (and hence were not listed as a partner in the original application). These discussions emerged as a response to the many cross-overs between the network and Wellcome Collection's critically acclaimed exhibition 'In Plain Sight', 20 October 2022 - 12 February 2023. Wilder and McPeake were invited by curators Laurie Britton Newell and Ligaya Salazarto be external advisors for the exhibition, while as a blind artist McPeake was included in the exhibition with two works, one of which - Once I Saw it All (2022) - was specially commissioned by Wellcome for the exhibition. For the symposium, the PI and Co-I provided the intellectual framing of the project (informed by their previous practice collaborations as artists), along with an extensive multi-disciplinary network of potential participants bringing different expertise: a network which developed during the course of the project itself. For the two-day symposium hosted by Wellcome Collection, in collaboration with Wellcome the research team (i) established the schedule and intellectual remit of the symposium, (ii) invited keynote speakers and established a call-out for presentations, (iii) reviewed and selected submissions, (iv) documented the symposium in video and audio recording, (v) generated pod-casts of the discussions (which are still in production and will be posted to the project webpages prior to the project completion on 14 April 2023). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Initial discussions were held in January 2022 with Laurie Britton Newell, Senior Curator at Wellcome Collection, and Ligaya Salazar, co-curator of 'In Plain Sight'. Wellcome Collection's contribution included extensive experience of accessibility issues, and the curating team's research informing the 'In Plain Sight' exhibition (see above). Both curators contributed this experience to the network events, and external to the workshops, extremely useful discussions ensued at regular intervals between the curators, Wellcome Collection's accessibility team, and the PI (Ken Wilder) and Co-I (Aaron McPeake). As a principal partner, Wellcome Collection's primary contribution to the project was to host a fully accessible two-day symposium at Wellcome Collection's site in Euston Road, 21/22 October 2022. Wellcome Collection's in-kind support equates to approximately £44,200, which included: the hire of the Henry Wellcome Auditorium and supporting spaces; audio visual technical support for the two-day symposium; teas, coffees and lunch on the two days; BSL and closed captioning for the event; travel and accommodation for 2 speakers and their companions at the symposium, Georgina Kleege and Carmen Papalia; drinks reception on 19 October for symposium speakers. |
| Impact | Beyond the Visual Symposium, Henry Wellcome Auditorium, Wellcome Collection, 21/22 October 2022. This output was multi-disciplinary, including: fine art theory and practice, architectural theory and practice, curating, critical disability studies, cultural studies, disability activism/advocacy, audio description, psychology, philosophy, cognitive science, art education. Forthcoming outcomes: Podcast series of Beyond the Visual Symposium (due April 2023) |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Burning Tears Workshops (Canada) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Burning Tears is a series of workshops hosted by Tangled Art + Disability in Canada, and facilitated by blind artist Collin van Uchelen (who contributed a presentation in person at the Beyond the Visual Symposium at Wellcome Collection). The workshop series was funded by the Canada Council for the Arts. Co-I Aaron McPeake participated in all four online workshops as a facilitator, drawing upon his experience of Beyond the Visual in leading sub-groups during the workshops. The workshops were aimed at artists and art students, particularly those with visual impairment, and (consistent with themes developed in Beyond the Visual) discussed audio description and translation as a creative practice. Participants reported that the workshops had expanded their understanding of the importance of description as a creative rather than merely objective practice. The workshops were organised under the following themes: (1) Resonance in the Presence of Art Workshop #1 explored how description can convey the emotional impact of art. Collin van Uchelen introduced the topic through a story about witnessing fireworks after having lost his eyesight, then invited participants to share their own experiences of resonance inspired by art. Participants worked in groups to describe a complex firework shell burst, translating the visual and sound experience into words. (2) Cross-Sensory Translation and Poetic Forms Workshop #2 used poetry as a framework to dive deeper into describing art. The workshop experimented with cross-sensory translation to describe light in non-visual terms. Participants reviewed several examples of descriptive poetry and created collaborative poems of their own in response to pyrotechnical art. (3) Beholding the Visible Characteristics of Light Workshop #3 examined the visible characteristics of light as revealed by fireworks. These included colour, movement, brilliance, sparkle, and how these characteristics change over time. Participants explored strategies for describing these qualities in accessible terms to people who are blind or have low-vision. (4) Giving and Receiving Descriptions of dynamic Art Workshop#4 examined giving and receiving in relation to works that are constantly (and swiftly) changing. The recipients were as important as those giving, and the workshop highlighted the role of potential gaps in perceptual information rather than the over-privileging of particular flamboyant elements of pyrotechnical art. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| URL | https://burningtears.ca/index.php/workshops/ |
| Description | Layers of Vision: New Approaches to Reimagining Accessibility in Museums |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Layers of Vision: New Approaches to Reimagining Accessibility in Museums was a workshop held at Bush House, Kings college London, on Tuesday 06 November 2022. The workshop accompanied the exhibition Layers of Vision, also at Bush House, Kings college London (see under section Artistic & Creative Products). Co-I Aaron McPeake was invited to give a presentation as part of the workshop, informed by his role as Co-I on Beyond the Visual. Other invited presenters included Zoe Partington (a network participant), Jeff Rowlings (from Shape Arts, a network partner organisation), Fiona Slater (from the Science Museum, who also came to the Wellcome Collection symposium). McPeake's presentation engaged: interactive challenges for artists, when visitors do not understand how they should interact with artworks in more tactile, interactive ways beyond visual experience; tensions between curatorial protection when implementing beyond visual modes of interactions (i.e. through touch); speculations as to how the museum could be reimagined further in terms of access. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://layersofvision.org/exhibition/ |
| Description | Non-Sighted Modes of Beholding Art: DesignTO |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The panel discussion, on 06April 2022, formed part of the online 'In Conversation Series' spotlighting artists and designers from Canada and the UK, organised by DesignTO in partnership with University of the Arts London (UAL) and OCAD University, Toronto, Canada. DesignTO is a Toronto-based non-profit arts organization that produces Canada's leading and largest annual design festival, showcasing multidisciplinary ways of making and thinking. The panel talk on non-sighted modes of beholding art took its title from PI Ken Wilder's and Co-I Aaron McPeake's current research project based in the UK, Beyond the Visual; this was therefore an opportunity to share themes that had emerged from the first two workshops held at Tate Modern with blind Canadian artist Olivia Brouwer and designer Nikkie To. As publicity for the event states: '[Wilder and McPeake] question how a shift in experience afforded by hybrid forms of contemporary art can open up new engagements for the partially sighted and blind community, a community which Aaron and Ontario-based artist Olivia Brouwer are a part of. Joining the conversation is inclusive designer Nikkie To. Together these four artists, designers and academics will discuss multi-sensory engagement that moves beyond the visual realm, how museums can better support visually impaired artists and audiences, and our collective fear of touch.' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/non-sighted-modes-of-beholding-art-registration-297392146917?aff=Partner... |
| Description | Podcast: How to listen better in the optocentric world |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This podcast, aimed at a general public, was linked to Co-I Aaron McPeake's contribution to the exhibition Let Me Hear Your Footprints, at the MeetFactory Gallery, a non-profit organisation and leading contemporary arts centre in Prague, Czech Republic. The podcast forms part of a regular series of podcasts produced by the MeetFactory, and the intended purpose was to disseminate themes addressed in the exhibition to as wide an audience as possible. The content comprises gallery curators Tereza Jindrová and Eva B. Riebová talking to McPeake about the ways visual artists cope with vision loss and how he personally benefited from his previous stage lighting experience. McPeake speaks about how his multisensory praxis intensifies the experience of the recipients of his works, drawing upon his experience as Co-I of Beyond the Visual. He also discusses how he was influenced by his stays in Thai and Myanmarese monasteries, and how this related to his sound works. McPeake's interview also touched on the wisdom of the Northern American Natives and the belief that every atom in the universe exists to pass a story on. Feedback from the Gallery emphasised how the audience expanded their understanding of what kind of work is able to be produced by a blind artist, confronting conventional ways of thinking about 'blind' art. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ud5F7cbJMw6iGyx4bwVSg |
| Description | Symposium: Wellcome Collection |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As described in the section on collaborations and partnerships, this engagement activity emerged out of discussions with Senior Curator Laurie Britton Newell at the Wellcome Collection in January 2022, and the overlap between themes central to the workshops and Wellcome Collection's planned In Plain Sight exhibition, 20 October 2022 - 12 February 2023. As a part of the original application, a symposium had been originally scheduled to be held at Chelsea College of Arts, UAL. Shifting the venue to the Henry Wellcome Auditorium at the Wellcome Collection [ADD] Hear from a wide range of speakers reflecting on what blindness brings to the experience of art within cultural organisations and beyond. Your speakers will include artists, creative practitioners, disability activists, historians, researchers and scientists. This symposium goes beyond thinking only about facilitating access: speakers will also talk about what blind and partially sighted people can bring to cultural experiences for all. There will be themed sessions with short individual responses to the session theme, followed by round tables where a facilitator will bring the speakers together to reflect on ideas. There will be time for you to ask questions during the round-table discussions. There will also be sessions with key figures in conversation with a facilitator about their work, including Amanda Cachia and Fiona Candlin. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://wellcomecollection.org/events/Yxch6hEAACEAkijJ |
| Description | TACTAE: Touch starvation: desire, contact and needs in the 21st century, Barcelona |
| 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 | Held on 22 September 2022, at the Universitat de Barcelona (in collaboration with Universidad de Chile and Universidad de Toulouse II, Jean-Jaurès), this was the first of a planned cycle of international interdisciplinary encounters on touch, organised by the TACTAE collective. One of the organisers, Àger Pérez Casanovas, has been an active member of the Beyond the Visual Network, giving presentations at the Tate Modern workshop and the Wellcome Collection symposium. PI Ken Wilder and Co-I Aaron McPeake were invited to report on the Beyond the Visual network, and to facilitate discussion about future developments within the TACTAE Collective. This focused upon non-sighted modes of beholding art, particularly (though not exclusively) through touch. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://tactae.wordpress.com/events/ |
| Description | Workshop 3: Henry Moore Institute |
| 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 | The one-day workshop was a hybrid event, with some participants joining via Zoom. The format of the workshop was informal discussions, facilitated by the use of HMI's boardroom with one large monitor at one end to give online participants a sense of being actively involved. The two sessions addressed the following themes in relation to engagements with contemporary art beyond the visual: art practice; curatorial practice. For each of the sessions, we provided a series of 'prompts', as aids to the discussion. As with the earlier Tate Modern workshops, these were not seen as exhaustive lists; indeed, the point of the workshop was that the discussions would take us in directions we could not have predicted in advance. To this end, we again gathered together a wide range of multi-disciplinary contributors, including: artists, theoreticians, curators, critical disability studies theorists, disability activists/advocates, audio describers, philosophers, art educators. And at the heart of the workshop was arts practice itself, and we particularly valued the input of artists/academics with visual impairments. Indeed, the workshops included contributions from some of the leading international figures in blindness arts, including Georgina Kleege, Hannah Thompson, Simon Hayhoe, Fayen D'Evie, Maria Oshodi, Carmen Papalia and the Senior Curator for the Wellcome Collection (Laurie Britton Newell). The workshop also included discussion about the aims for the symposium, hosted by Wellcome Collection (and aimed at a public audience). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.arts.ac.uk/research/current-research-and-projects/beyond-the-visual |
| Description | Workshops 1 & 2: Tate Modern |
| 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 | The two all-day workshops were hybrid events, with some participants joining via Teams. The format of the workshops was informal discussions, facilitated by sofas arranged in an oval format with monitors at either end to give online participants a sense of being actively involved. The sessions themselves addressed the following themes: (workshop 1) non-visual perception and orientation (exemplary encounters with art beyond the visual; sensory processing and orientation/location; contextual information (social/communal context) and situated beholding); (workshop 2) architectural and spatial situations/contexts, and how these might enhance non-sighted modes of beholding (architecture as 'felt space' or 'acoustic space'; from access to 'affordance'). For each of the sessions, we provided a series of 'prompts', as aids to the discussion. These were not seen as exhaustive lists; indeed, the point of the workshops was that the discussions would take us in directions we could not have predicted in advance. To this end, we gathered together a wide range of multi-disciplinary contributors, including: artists, theoreticians, architects, curators, critical disability studies theorists, disability activists/advocates, audio describers, psychologists, philosophers, cognitive scientists, art educators. And at the heart of the project was arts practice itself, and we particularly valued the input of artists/academics with visual impairments. Indeed, the workshops included contributions from some of the leading international figures in blindness arts, including Georgina Kleege, Hannah Thompson, Simon Hayhoe, Fayen D'Evie, and the Senior Curator for the Wellcome Collection (Laurie Britton Newell). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.arts.ac.uk/research/current-research-and-projects/beyond-the-visual |