'I don't see what you mean': Broadening participation through co-created inclusive digital museum audio interpretation.
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Westminster
Department Name: Sch of Social Sciences
Abstract
This research will examine how museums can transform the way that they think about and create digital audio interpretation for their collections, to enhance inclusion and access for all audiences.
For people who are blind or partially blind (BPB), audio description (AD) is traditionally described as a verbal narrative for information available through vision. In both the UK and US, museums are legally obliged to ensure equitable access to their collections. AD is a key tool for achieving this for BPB audiences but museums need to dramatically improve AD provision. Incredibly, the charity VocalEyes found that only 5% of museums in the UK mentioned AD provision on their websites. Museums could transform accessibility through apps, such as Smartify. Smartify currently gives over 3 million users worldwide online access to more than 2 million works of art at home or through a QR code in the museum building. Of these 2 million works, only a handful are offered with AD, and all come from only two institutions - the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery (US) and Royal Holloway Picture Gallery (UK).
The need goes beyond inclusive digital access for BPB people - this project it is about enhancing the museum experience for everyone. The pandemic has spotlighted both the scope and desire for digital participation and the massive opportunity for museums to grow audiences. Our previous research has shown that AD benefits not only people who are BPB, an inclusive way to audiences globally through high-quality online access.
The UK-US research team brings together experts on psychology, aesthetics and design, critical disability studies, cultural diversity, translation studies and includes members who are partially blind and non-blind, neurotypical and with learning differences and of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. With our digital heritage sector-leading partners - Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery; Royal Holloway Picture Gallery; Smartify and VocalEyes - this research will challenge current AD practice, where sighted curators/describers produce AD for BPB audiences. We will develop and extend AD usage as a tool for all visitors (blind, partially blind and sighted). We will do this by creating and evaluating the W-ICAD (Workshop for Inclusive Co-created Audio Description) model whereby AD creation is led by partially blind co-creators, collaborating with blind and sighted co-creators. The W-ICAD model will give museums a streamlined way to create new AD, extending their digital provision and boosting inclusion. The research will compare how audiences in the UK and US experience AD so that AD creation takes account of varying cultural needs or expectations.
For people who are blind or partially blind (BPB), audio description (AD) is traditionally described as a verbal narrative for information available through vision. In both the UK and US, museums are legally obliged to ensure equitable access to their collections. AD is a key tool for achieving this for BPB audiences but museums need to dramatically improve AD provision. Incredibly, the charity VocalEyes found that only 5% of museums in the UK mentioned AD provision on their websites. Museums could transform accessibility through apps, such as Smartify. Smartify currently gives over 3 million users worldwide online access to more than 2 million works of art at home or through a QR code in the museum building. Of these 2 million works, only a handful are offered with AD, and all come from only two institutions - the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery (US) and Royal Holloway Picture Gallery (UK).
The need goes beyond inclusive digital access for BPB people - this project it is about enhancing the museum experience for everyone. The pandemic has spotlighted both the scope and desire for digital participation and the massive opportunity for museums to grow audiences. Our previous research has shown that AD benefits not only people who are BPB, an inclusive way to audiences globally through high-quality online access.
The UK-US research team brings together experts on psychology, aesthetics and design, critical disability studies, cultural diversity, translation studies and includes members who are partially blind and non-blind, neurotypical and with learning differences and of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. With our digital heritage sector-leading partners - Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery; Royal Holloway Picture Gallery; Smartify and VocalEyes - this research will challenge current AD practice, where sighted curators/describers produce AD for BPB audiences. We will develop and extend AD usage as a tool for all visitors (blind, partially blind and sighted). We will do this by creating and evaluating the W-ICAD (Workshop for Inclusive Co-created Audio Description) model whereby AD creation is led by partially blind co-creators, collaborating with blind and sighted co-creators. The W-ICAD model will give museums a streamlined way to create new AD, extending their digital provision and boosting inclusion. The research will compare how audiences in the UK and US experience AD so that AD creation takes account of varying cultural needs or expectations.
Publications
Eardley A
(2024)
The W- ICAD model: Redefining museum access through the Workshop for Inclusive Co-created Audio Description
in Curator: The Museum Journal
| Title | Ensemble exhibition |
| Description | The Ensemble exhibition, curated by Hettie James and Stephanie Farmer, explored creative Audio Description as a collaborative art form and accessible communication tool, challenging audiences to experience artworks with their minds in an audio-based group exhibition. The exhibition took 6 artworks, and trained the artists to create an audio description of their artwork, and worked with a group of audio describers, led by partially blind writer and describer, Joe Rizzo Naudi, who produced creative audio descriptions of the artwork. In the final experience, the descriptions of the artworks, one by the artist and one by the collective of describers, became the artworks. The original pieces were not exhibited. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | This exhibition, supported by Arts Council England, was influenced by W-ICAD in two ways. Firstly through conversations between Eardley and James and Farmer, and secondly, through the involvement of Joe Rizzo Naudi. Joe was a participant in one of the W-ICAD sessions at the Watts Gallery and Artist Village. He used his experience in W-ICAD to both impact on the way in which the artists created their description, and drew on the creative inclusive process used in W-ICAD for the descriptions he led. I was also invited to include an introduction to the exhibition, which was printed on the wall and was included as an audio file in the audio guide for the exhibition. |
| URL | https://www.newexhibitions.com/e/63701 |
| Title | Inclusive audio descriptive for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition (2024-25) |
| Description | These audio files feature descriptions of the award-winning images from the sixtieth Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. Their co-creation was underpinned by the W-ICAD model, specifically drawing on the question and suggestion session in the model. They were co-created this year by sighted curators at the museum, drawing on the subjective and experiential approach to audio description proposed within W-ICAD. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | This is the inclusive audio guide, and for the first time makes this exhibition accessible to blind and partially blind audiences. It is designed to be experienced by all museum audiences. |
| URL | https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year/wildlife-photographer-of-t... |
| Title | National Paralympic Heritage Trust |
| Description | Inclusive co-created audio descriptions, created through W-ICAD sessions with a pan-disabled group of co-creators, are now incorporated into the galleries of the NPHT digital museum. There are currently 16, but they are in the process of creating more so that all of their will be produced using the W-ICAD co-creation model. They also have a 'tour' through the galleries, for which all audio interpretation is based on W-ICAD sessions. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | Testimony from Emily Toettcher, Head of Programmes, NPHT: "We have been working with Hannah, Lindsay and the team since early 2024. Our work together has focused on co-curated audio descriptions for the development of a series of new digital galleries related to national Paralympic and disability sports histories. We began with a series of workshops, involving a wide range of staff and volunteers from our team, from local partner museums and we recruited visually impaired people through local networks. These workshops focused on curating objects which had been 3D scanned. This autumn, we reviewed what had worked well and what we could improve. Fundamentally, we have shifted to starting with co-curated audio descriptions; written labels are then based on these, rather than the other way round. We have worked with a much smaller group of people, but the same people have been involved in the curation and editing, which has helped with consistency. We've also tried to work with objects which all the participants could touch, which enhances the experience for everyone. We have really enjoyed the process and have found the results to be richer, more interesting and thought provoking than audio description we were previously producing. It feels truly collaborative, giving a range of people the opportunity to contribute. I particularly value the way the process brings feelings, emotions, memories and senses to the fore." |
| URL | https://www.paralympicheritage.org.uk/global-virtual-museum |
| Title | Natural History Museum Urban Natures Project, Young People's guide: A poetic response |
| Description | As part of the Urban Nature Project, the Natural History Museum (NHM) created two audio guides. One was a standard audio descriptive guide, but for the second guide they wanted a co-created experience that drew on the young people. They wanted to work with blind and partially blind young people, and influenced by the W-ICAD project, the end result was a descriptive poetic response, co-created by the young people. This audio guide is on the NHM website. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | We began talking to Theo Blossom and Harriet Fink, who were responsible for the creation of the Young Peoples Guide, for the Urban Nature Project (Natural History Museum), in 2022. They attended the W-ICAD seminar in London, and then took part in W-ICAD training in January 2024. We also supported them in the recruitment of the young people who were involved. This is a testimony from Harriet Fink, Urban Nature Project: Learning and Volunteering Programme Manager, about the impact of W-ICAD on their work: "Having the W-ICAD model and training to draw from was fundamental to us being able to co-create elements of our new audio guide with blind and partially sighted people, informing both our thinking and practice. It enabled us to have a methodology on which to draw and the research thinking to make decisions from. We used it to structure the sessions so they started from sensory exploration and then widened to contextual information, and the information on why it is so vital that audio guides include content created by and for blind and partially sighted people has been useful in advocating for future projects and showing the rationale for our project. The model, training and early dissemination also gave us confidence we were on the right track with our project idea and how to create a project with an audience we were not very experienced in working with. In a sector (Museums) that often struggles to engage blind and partially sighted audiences or to run co-creation projects the W-ICAD model is really important and needed. I am very thankful for the team and their generosity in sharing their expertise and learning and really would have struggled to do the project without their help and the resources they have shared and created. " |
| URL | https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/galleries-and-museum-map/our-gardens/audio-guides-and-transcripts.html |
| Description | Through the Workshop for Inclusive Co-Created Audio Description (W-ICAD), developed in our AHRC-NEH New Directions for Digital Scholarship Project (AH/W005549/1), we have produced a new model for creating inclusive audience experiences within the museum and heritage sector. Our model redefines the way that museums think about and produce digitally available recorded audio description (AD). W-ICAD re-shapes museum audio interpretation by challenging three key implicit biases that underpin current AD practice within the museum sector (and beyond). These biases are that (1) 'experience' through sight is objective; (2) AD is only beneficial to blind or partially blind people; and (3) full sight provides people with a privileged experience of visual arts, and therefore sighted people must do the describing for blind and partially blind listeners. W-ICAD draws on psychology and neuroscience to redefine how museum AD is created, who it is for, and who does the describing. Building on opportunities afforded by the digital revolution, the W-ICAD model provides museums with a new, equitable and inclusive way to co-create audio description. Description is led by partially blind co-creators, in collaboration with blind and sighted co-creators. The subjectivity and positionality of the describers is embraced, and descriptions are created equally for blind, partially blind and sighted audiences. Through this model, we have transformed the ways in which museum collections can be experienced by audiences (in museums and online). |
| Exploitation Route | We have provided a model which enables museums to re-imagine not only the way they create 'access' tools for blind and partially blind people, but also challenges the way in which they think about access and inclusion within the museum setting. With this in mind, all museums and heritage organisations can draw on W-ICAD to challenge the ableist biases systemic within the museum sector (and society more broadly), by creating inclusive audio descriptive interpretation. We providing in-person and online training for the museum sector to facilitate this process. |
| Sectors | Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://w-icad.org/ |
| Description | This experience had a very positive impact on participants who took part in the trial phase. Participants mentioned the impact of the description process on their depth of engagement with the artwork: "we discovered things I would never have noticed alone" and another said: "Thank you so much for this opportunity! I learned a great deal about how to use more than just my vision to experience artwork through all senses and perspectives. This was one of the most beneficial workshops I have ever attended and I am taking a great deal away from this session". Other participants talked about the impact of the workshop on their feelings of inclusion: "It was so much fun! I love the work that you are doing and find it so interesting. This work benefits everyone and creates a more accepting culture." One of the participants has taken his experience of the workshop into his professional work. He has been working with curators and has created one exhibition that has employed the principles of W-ICAD in an informal way, and in a second (which is opening in April 2024), he has worked with a group of blind and partially blind collaborators, drawing on W-ICAD, to create audio descriptions of artworks which will be experienced without the artworks themselves. He is now doing a PhD on a topic related to W-ICAD, with co-Investigator Hannah Thompson. As a result of the very positive impact that W-ICAD had on the people who took part as co-creators, this work has had a significant impact on the museum professionals who took part. Through the second phase of impact funding, the W-ICAD model has now been developed so that it is applicable to all types of museum and heritage environment. We have trained over 10 museums on using the W-ICAD model, and 3 museums already have audio description influenced by W-ICAD on their website or within their museums (or both). That number is growing. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal |
| Description | Developed the W-ICAD (Workshop for Inclusive Co-created Audio Description) |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | The W-ICAD model challenges systemic ableist biases within the practice of museum audio interpretation, by challenging a) the assumption that sighted people only need their vision to access museum collections and b) audio description should be created by sighted people for blind audiences, and c) that audio description should be objective. These are significant conceptual shifts for the museum sector. As a result of this model, and the associated training, museums including: Natural History Museum, National Paralympic Heritage Trust and National Museums Liverpool are already actively changing the way in which they create audio interpretation. Other museums are building on their in-person training and are building in revised practice into planned re-developments of their museums (including Horniman Museum and Galleries, Imperial War Museums Duxford, Heurich House Museum (US) and Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art (US). The work is also influencing the practice of creative practitioners, as evidenced by the Ensemble Exhibition. |
| Description | Presentation and discussion with the Nobel Prize Museum, as they develop their new museum |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | W-ICAD in-person training - Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis, US |
| Geographic Reach | North America |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | The W-ICAD model enables museums to move away from traditional ableist access practices, which have segregated those with access needs away from the assumed 'normative' majority. It does this by giving them a practical tool and process that they can use to co-create audio description with blind, partially blind and sighted co-creators. It redefines the purpose of audio descriptive by drawing on evidence from psychology, cognitive neuroscience, critical disability studies and museum studies to challenge the assumption of that 'normative' core audience. It therefore proposes that inclusive audio description, underpinned by multisensory experience and description and embracing subjectivity and positionality, is for all audiences. As such, it enables museums to replace the two tier system of a 'standard' audio guide and an audio descriptive guide, and instead to provide one single audio descriptive guide that will benefit all audiences. The museum staff took part in this training so that they could take the learning and the new approach into both their temporary exhibitions. They are now planning to apply this to their programming and to their permanent exhibitions. |
| Description | W-ICAD in-person training - Heurich House Museum, Washington DC |
| Geographic Reach | North America |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | The W-ICAD model enables museums to move away from traditional ableist access practices, which have segregated those with access needs away from the assumed 'normative' majority. It does this by giving them a practical tool and process that they can use to co-create audio description with blind, partially blind and sighted co-creators. It redefines the purpose of audio descriptive by drawing on evidence from psychology, cognitive neuroscience, critical disability studies and museum studies to challenge the assumption of that 'normative' core audience. It therefore proposes that inclusive audio description, underpinned by multisensory experience and description and embracing subjectivity and positionality, is for all audiences. As such, it enables museums to replace the two tier system of a 'standard' audio guide and an audio descriptive guide, and instead to provide one single audio descriptive guide that will benefit all audiences. This work is influencing the re-development of the guided tours delivered by Heurich house museum, which will now all include audio descriptive interpretation. They are also seeking to create audio descriptive recordings, so they can put them on their website. |
| Description | W-ICAD in-person training - Horniman Museum and Gardens |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | The W-ICAD model enables museums to move away from traditional ableist access practices, which have segregated those with access needs away from the assumed 'normative' majority. It does this by giving them a practical tool and process that they can use to co-create audio description with blind, partially blind and sighted co-creators. It redefines the purpose of audio descriptive by drawing on evidence from psychology, cognitive neuroscience, critical disability studies and museum studies to challenge the assumption of that 'normative' core audience. It therefore proposes that inclusive audio description, underpinned by multisensory experience and description and embracing subjectivity and positionality, is for all audiences. As such, it enables museums to replace the two tier system of a 'standard' audio guide and an audio descriptive guide, and instead to provide one single audio descriptive guide that will benefit all audiences. This work is influencing the re-development of the Natural History museums at the Horniman Museum and Gardens. |
| Description | W-ICAD in-person training - Imperial War Museums |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | The W-ICAD model enables museums to move away from traditional ableist access practices, which have segregated those with access needs away from the assumed 'normative' majority. It does this by giving them a practical tool and process that they can use to co-create audio description with blind, partially blind and sighted co-creators. It redefines the purpose of audio descriptive by drawing on evidence from psychology, cognitive neuroscience, critical disability studies and museum studies to challenge the assumption of that 'normative' core audience. It therefore proposes that inclusive audio description, underpinned by multisensory experience and description and embracing subjectivity and positionality, is for all audiences. As such, it enables museums to replace the two tier system of a 'standard' audio guide and an audio descriptive guide, and instead to provide one single audio descriptive guide that will benefit all audiences. The museum staff at Duxford took part in this training so they could build the W-ICAD sessions and approach to the creation of descriptive interpretation into their planned major re-development project that they are currently working on. |
| Description | W-ICAD in-person training - National Museums Liverpool |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | Following the training, the PDRF on the project was employed by NML to make changes to the standard audio guides for Walker Art Gallery, Museum of Liverpool, and the World Museum, to take these guides and add in some multisensory description, using the W-ICAD principles, so that the guides become inclusive guides suitable for all audiences. This work is ongoing. |
| Description | W-ICAD in-person training - Smithsonian Institution US |
| Geographic Reach | North America |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | The W-ICAD model enables museums to move away from traditional ableist access practices, which have segregated those with access needs away from the assumed 'normative' majority. It does this by giving them a practical tool and process that they can use to co-create audio description with blind, partially blind and sighted co-creators. It redefines the purpose of audio descriptive by drawing on evidence from psychology, cognitive neuroscience, critical disability studies and museum studies to challenge the assumption of that 'normative' core audience. It therefore proposes that inclusive audio description, underpinned by multisensory experience and description and embracing subjectivity and positionality, is for all audiences. As such, it enables museums to replace the two tier system of a 'standard' audio guide and an audio descriptive guide, and instead to provide one single audio descriptive guide that will benefit all audiences. |
| Description | W-ICAD online training course |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | The online W-ICAD course launch on 14th January 2025 was attended by over 60 people, and the course currently has 79 people signed up.There are 7 modules, and it is suggested that people aim to do one or two a week. Of those that have left feedback, participants are from the US, UK and Europe. People range from museum professionals, to professional audio describers, to copywriters and art therapists. The feedback has been unanimously positive, with comments including: "I've learnt so much and it's developed thinking and knowledge I had around intersectionality too. I've also found it creatively inspirational and I can't wait to put more creative AD into my life and work. I'd be very happy to be involved in future projects and research with WI-CAD. Thank you all for offering this as a free training and for all your hard work in putting it together. It's much appreciated." And: "I deeply appreciate the approach this model takes in creating descriptions. I believe W-ICAD is truly an incredible step forward for museums. The implementation of W-ICAD in any museum would significantly enhance its offerings." And: "I still can't believe I got to take it for free, and I'm so grateful. I might think that I'd have to experience a full W-ICAD workshop process in full to understand it, but this curriculum was so well designed that I really understand it well. Because I can download all the materials you provided, I have notes I can always refer back to as I start to incorporate pieces of this process into my work. Bravo, team!" |
| URL | https://w-icad.org/about-the-online-course/ |
| Description | Developing W-ICAD as a means of enhancing equity, diversity and inclusion within museum digital audio interpretation |
| Amount | £153,248 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/Y005996/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2023 |
| End | 09/2024 |
| Description | Image Without Resemblance: combining co-creative artwork description practices, divergent mimesis and post-modern narrative technique towards an... |
| Amount | £110,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 2920527 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2024 |
| End | 03/2028 |
| Description | The Sensational Museum: The Practice and Provision of Trans-Sensory Collecting and Communicating |
| Amount | £1,011,332 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/X004643/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2023 |
| End | 07/2025 |
| Description | Co-creation partnership - UK museum |
| Organisation | Watts Gallery - Artist's Village |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | We have facilitated a prototype workshop, including members of the collaborative organisation. Based on this we have then developed training materials for running the workshops, and have supported the organisation in running three co-creation workshops with participants. We have refined materials, in collaboration with participants and the members of the collaborating organisation. We have also produced three co-created AD based on their collections, which are now available for them to use. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners provided the venue for the 2-day prototype workshop, and contributed the time of two members of staff. They also hosted the three one-day participant workshops. For these, they selected the artworks, researched the context information, and facilitated these sessions (supported by members of the academic team). They have contributed knowledge and professional expertise to the development of the co-created AD. |
| Impact | Workshop for Inclusive Co-created Audio Description (W-ICAD) model. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Dissemination partner - UK |
| Organisation | VocalEyes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | We have developed the W-ICAD model, which includes tools and processes for co-creating audio description with groups of blind, partially-blind and sighted co-creators. This puts VocalEyes at the forefront of discussions on the development of AD within the museum sector in the UK. Our collaborative relationship with VocalEyes began in 2015, when they were involved in the development of a PhD proposal. |
| Collaborator Contribution | They have contributed to the prototype session, including the development of the W-ICAD sessions and the instructions. They have given feedback on the revised sessions and have helped to recruit participants in Phase 2 of the research, by sending the study to their mailing lists. |
| Impact | The W-ICAD model |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | BBC Brazil - interview about Creative Inclusive Audio Description |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed, together with Hannah Thompson, for a press-article with video content for BBC Brazil on creative inclusive audio description. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/articles/c1597e4194no |
| Description | Co-creation participant workshops |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | We carried out 7 workshops in total, with between 3-4 co-creator participants in each. The purpose of these workshops was for our participants to experience the workshop, and also to give us feedback on how they thought that the W-ICAD model worked. For this, they were given insights into the process, and the design, so that they could give us feedback on how they experienced it, and how we could improve the model. This stimulated discussion with the groups about the nature of the museum experience, and what we were aiming to achieve. The impact on participants was highly positive, and has led to the adaptation of the W-ICAD model as a public museum programme (see narrative section). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Fireside chat - National Gallery Singapore |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This 'Fireside chat' was an organised event, in collaboration with National Gallery Singapore, organised as part of their International Museum Day week of events. The chat was exploring the topics of the book, co-edited with Vanessa Jones, exploring access and inclusion within the museum sector. The chat included a presentation of some of the key topics, and a question and answer session. As part of the broader event, I met with the National Gallery Singapore access team, and discussed their audio description practices with them. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | International Museum Day Symposium: Singapore Heritage Board |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to present on both the Sensational Museum project and the W-ICAD project at the NHB's International Museum Day Singapore Symposium 2024 on 16 May 2024. The event was attended my museum professionals across Singapore, along with managers and workers at the National Heritage Board, which is responsible for overseeing the museum sector in Singapore. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.nhb.gov.sg/what-we-do/our-work/sector-development/museum-roundtable/imd-symposium-2024 |
| Description | Interview on RNIB Connect Radio |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview on the W-ICAD model, with postdoc Lindsay Bywood, on RNIB Connect Radio. It was Europe's first radio station for blind and partially sighted listeners, and reaches an broad audience around the UK (and abroad). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Invited presentation of W-ICAD model to ICOM CIMUSET pre-conference workshop , held in Seoul, South Korea |
| 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 | Workshop presentation entitled: "Broadening participation through co-created inclusive audio description: The Workshop for Inclusive Co-created Audio Description (W-ICAD). International Committee for Museums and Collections of Science and Technology (ICOM CIMUSET) Annual conference, at the National Aviation Museum of Korea. The workshop group included museum professionals from around the globe, including the CIMUSET organizing committee. The workshop presented the theoretical background to W-ICAD, the model itself, and the preliminary findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Nobel Center Talk #6. Diversity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The sixth Nobel Center Talk was organised at the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm. Employees, board members and committee members from the prize-awarding institutions were invited. Around 70 people participated during the afternoon. Nobel Center Talk #6 focused on the topic of diversity and how they, as an institution, can include and express a diversity of voices in the new museum that they are planning and building. I was one of six invited speakers, including Lonnie Bunch III (Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution), Esme Ward (Director of the Manchester Museum), and Gus Casely-Hayford (Director V&A East). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Podcast interview: Choose to be Curious Series, US |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was interviewed for a podcast with Lynn Borton, as part of her Choose to be Curious series. She was a participant in a W-ICAD workshop at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. We discussed the principles underpinning W-ICAD and The Sensational Museum project. The podcast has been broadcast on cable channels across the US, as well as being shared via social media. It was broadcast in the following locations: • RADIO STATIONS: ? KCEI 90.1 FM (Taos, NM) ? KCIW 100.7 FM (Brookings, OR) ? KEPJ 96.5 FM (San Antonio, TX) ? KGHI 91.1 FM (Grays Harbor, WA) ? KMRE 102.3 (Bellingham, WA) ? KOYS-LPFM 94.1 FM (Bellingham, WA) ? KPSQ 97.3 FM (Fayetteville, AR) ? KPTZ 91.9 FM (Port Townsend, WA) ? KTWH 99.5 FM (Two Harbors, MN) ? KXCR 90.7 FM (Florence, OR) ? WCRX-FM (streaming) (Columbia College, Chicago, IL) ? WDRT 91.9 FM (Viroqua, WI) ? WPVM 103.7 FM (Asheville, NC) ? WRWK 93.9 FM (Midlothian, VA) ? WWSX 99.1 FM (Rehoboth Beach, DE) ? WXOJ-LP 103.3 FM (Florence, MA) • GlobalCommunityRadio is another distribution group that carried the show. I don't know much about their reach; they appear to have a modest international terrestrial radio distribution and offer streaming. C2BC has a regular slot in their talk program schedule. • PODCAST PLATFORMS: I post to SoundCloud, which serves as my RSS feed and delivers the show to other platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Blubrry, Podchaser, ListenNotes, PodBean, and others(At the time of our release, I was also distributing through MixCloud but I have discontinued that platform - too pricey!) I keep discovering the show places I did not know it was shared or that I had followers |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://lynnborton.com/2024/10/03/curiosity-the-sensational-museum-with-alison-eardley/ |
| Description | W-ICAD symposium - ONLINE |
| 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 | This was an online event, run at the request of people who were unable to make the in-person workshops in both the UK and the US. As with the other workshops, it was aimed at museum professionals and introduced the theoretical underpinnings of the W-ICAD model, the model itself, and a preview of the evaluation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | W-ICAD symposium - UK (University of Westminster) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was an in-person event aimed at introducing the theoretical underpinnings of the W-ICAD model, the model itself, and a preview of the evaluation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | W-ICAD symposium - US (held at Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery) |
| 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 | This was an in-person event aimed at introducing the theoretical underpinnings of the W-ICAD model, the model itself, and a preview of the evaluation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Workshop at Visitor Studies conference (US) |
| 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 | We ran an interactive workshop, introducing the W-ICAD model to museum professionals attending the conference. We first presented the details of the model, and then people took part in a short 'question and suggestion' session, in small groups. They were then involved in discussion around their experiences of the model, and the ways in which the model might be implemented within their museums. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |