Are audiodescribed visits for all?: notes on an accessibility project for contemporary art
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Translators have been given many names, from a “mere” intermediary between a source language/ culture and a target language/ culture to a universal access mediator (Neves, 2020). Mediation “between humans and the cultural heritage environment” (Deane-Cox, 2020) has grown exponentially in the last decades. Within Heritage Studies we speak of interpretation, which ultimate goal is to educate and engage, whereas, in Audiovisual Translation, we endorse the overthrow of obstacles that impede understanding, by enhancing access at various levels – from physical to communicational, from emotional to sensory (cf. Dodd & Sandell, 1998 & Sassaki, 2005). Therefore, this enhanced access aims also to inform in a customised manner, by means of a museum guide for the general public, for children, for the blind and visually-impaired, for the D/deaf and hard-of-hearing, among other audiences. Access in heritage seeks to enable visitors’ engagement and the use of their various senses, in order to create a meaningful and holistic experience that will remain in their memory. Regardless of the type of guide on offer, research has shown that access for all does not necessarily equal one different product/ equipment for each different group, but rather one that amasses the most diversified options in order to cater for as many people as possible. Thus, we aim to report on the project carried out at the Contemporary Art Centre Graça Morais, in Bragança, Portugal, where audiodescribed visits were created for the biannual temporary exhibitions with a view to heeding the needs of blind and visually-impaired patrons.
