In Touch with Art 2010
‘In Touch with Art 2010’ Conference Resolution to be presented at European Day of People with Disabilities on 3 December in Brussels.
The Conference
Held on 13-14 October at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, ‘In Touch with Art 2010’ explored international perspectives on equal access to museums for visually impaired people. It was organised by St Dunstan’s in partnership with the European Blind Union.
Nearly 150 delegates from across the world attended Europe’s leading conference about museums, heritage and visually impaired people. They shared a common belief that visually impaired people have a right to gain access to the wealth of the world’s great museum collections. They resolved to share the conclusions of their discussions in a unique Conference Resolution and ask governments and stakeholders the world over to take vigorous action to improve access.
To set the scene, Lord Low, Chairman of the European Blind Union summarised the international policies which establish the right of disabled people to participate on equal terms in cultural life and in the museum experience. RNIB Chairman and art lover Kevin Carey called for a centre of excellence in audio description for museum, gallery and heritage collections ‘using all the best talents at our disposal, museum professionals, novelists, critics, historians, psychologists and artists themselves. This should not be considered as a tangential prize, but as a leading edge opportunity.’ And he called for a centre that promotes the art of touching and creative opportunity for visually impaired people – against a backdrop of persistent sensory deprivation in museums and in education.
The delegates went on to discuss barriers to the museum experience for blind and partially sighted people and improvements needed.
The ‘In Touch with Art 2010’ Conference Resolution is in response to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities In it, the delegates affirm a common belief that intellectual access to collections for disabled people is not a luxury, but a creative task, which will widen the expressive range of service, exhibition and spatial design in museums.
The European Blind Union (EBU) and St Dunstan’s worked in partnership for the In Touch with Art conference. For more information about EBU please visit the site http://www.euroblind.org
