How can museums, traditionally visual spaces, become more accessible to visually impaired audiences? In this episode, Renato Trotta, a PhD candidate in Museum and Gallery Studies, explores the tensions between ocularcentric institutions and the need for non-visual engagement. He shares insights from his interdisciplinary research, drawing from museology, social sciences, critical disability theory, and psychology.
Through thought-provoking discussions and references to his fieldwork, Renato highlights key challenges and possibilities for greater inclusivity in museums. The episode also features reflections on the work of Aldo Grassini, blind museum director of the Tactile Museum of Ancona and a long-time accessibility advocate.
References
Klatzky, R.L., Lederman, S.J. & Metzger, V.A. (1985). Identifying objects by touch: An “expert system”. Perception & Psychophysics 37, 299–302 https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03211351
Secchi, L. (2004). L’educazione estetica per l’integrazione. Carocci.
Reichinger, A., Fuhrmann, A., Maierhofer, S., and Purgathofer, W. (2016). “Gesture-Based Interactive Audio Guide on Tactile Reliefs.” Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, October. https://doi.org/10.1145/2982142.2982176.
Suggested readings
Candlin, F. (2010). Art, Museums and Touch. Manchester University Press.
Eardley, A., Jones, V., and Zakaria, N. (2025). Unpicking Ableism and Disablism in Museums. Routledge EBooks, January, 11–26. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003382713-3.
Fortuna, J., Harrison, C., Eekhoff, A., Marthaler, C., Seromik, M., Ogren, S., and Vandermolen, J. (2023). Identifying Barriers to Accessibility for Museum Visitors Who Are Blind and Visually Impaired. Visitor Studies, February, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/10645578.2023.2168421.
Hetherington, K. (2000). Museums and the Visually Impaired: The Spatial Politics of Access. The Sociological Review 48 (3): 444–63. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-954x.00225.
Sandell, R. (2012). Museums, Equality and Social Justice. Routledge.