Accessible Resources for Cultural Heritage EcoSystems (ARCHES): Initial Observations from the Fieldwork

This presentation discusses a study of learners with sensory impairments and learning difficulties using mobile technologies and touch objects in European museums. The fieldwork is based in Spain, Austria and the UK, and the museums involved include the Victoria & Albert Museum (London), the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (Madrid) and the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna). The presentation aims to discuss early findings from participatory research in Madrid and London, and suggest new protocols for apps, operating systems, hardware and best practice to support access to museums for learners with additional access needs. The research is informed by two questions: 1. How can museums in Europe best support people with sensory impairments and learning difficulties through mobile technologies? 2. How can museums in Europe engage participants with sensory impairments and learning difficulties in the development of access? The methodology used during the study is participatory research, which is a form of emancipatory and inclusive research. Data collection methods include feedback from monthly and bi-monthly meetings, interviews with participants, participant focus groups, photographs of practice by the participants and of participants’ practice, art making activities and participant diaries. The data from this study is analysed through a model of inclusive capital, which is designed to facilitate social and cultural inclusion of people with access needs. The following three findings from London and Madrid are discussed: 1) participants in different countries engage with museums in different ways, and this engagement is guided more by cultural background rather than sensory impairment or learning difficulty; 2) technologies and support strategies for engaging learners with one form of access need can also benefit and increase engagement of participants with other forms of access need (for example, descriptions of artworks designed for people with visual impairments can benefit learners with hearing impairments and learning difficulties); 3) there are tensions between learners with different access needs who have not worked together previously, making the process of developing single access strategies difficult. It is concluded that current models of engaging and supporting learners with access needs according to individual impairments needs to be re-assessed, and technologies need to be developed using greater participatory practice.