Art Beyond Sight: Multimodal Approaches to Learning
October 16 and 17, 2009
Organized by
/The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Convenors: Nina Levent, Art Education for the Blind; Rebecca McGinnis, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Marie Clapot, Art Education for the Blind
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Uris Center for Education, Entrance on Fifth Avenue at 81st Street
Friday, October 16, 2009
9:00 – 10:00 Registration (Uris Center for Education)
10:00 – 10:20 Welcome (Lecture Hall)
10:20 – 12:20 The senses and disability in context: Perspectives from museums, art history, anthropology, and philosophy (Lecture Hall)
Chair: Tim Barringer, Paul Mellon Professor, History of Art, Yale University
From Object Lessons to Sentient Subjects: Curating and Displaying Ethnographic Artifacts Now
David Howes, Concordia University (Canada)
The Invisible Museum: An Archaeology of the Senses
Constance Classen, Concordia University (Canada)
First-Hand Knowledge: Some reflections on Blind Identity
Georgina Kleege, Lecturer, University of California, Berkeley
Re-Presenting Disability: activism and agency in the museum
Richard Sandell, Leicester University (UK)
Discussant: Marcus Weisen, Museums and Galleries without Barriers (UK, France)
12:20 – 1:50 Lunch break (on your own)
1:50 – 3:30 Concurrent sessions
The senses in contemporary art (Lecture Hall)
Chairs: Daniel Mason, curator and Roz Driscoll, artist and curator
Panelists: Diane Willow, multi-modal artist, University of Minnesota; Anna Schuleit, artist, McArthur Fellow; Alexis Karl, artist
Sense of the city (Art Study Room)
Chair: David Howes, Concordia University (Canada)
Panelists: Patrick Devlieger, University of Leuven (Belgium); Madalina Diaconu, University of Vienna (Austria); Doris Prenn (Austria); Orna Cohen, Dialogue In The Dark (Germany – Video link)
Museums: Access through the senses I (Carroll Classroom)
Chair: Nina Levent, Art Education for the Blind
Panelists: Jane Samuels, British Museum (UK); Sandra Eastwood, Iziko South African National Gallery; Monica Suris and Maria-Jose Ania, ComAccess (Spain)
3:30 – 4:00 Coffee break
4:00 – 5:30 Concurrent sessions
Art, disability, identity (Lecture Hall)
Chair: tbc
Panelists: John Bramblitt, Artist and writer, University of Texas; Alison Jones, Artist (UK); Eric Brun-Sanglard, The Blind Designer; Busser Howell, Artist
Museums: Access through the senses II (Art Study Room)
Chair: Georgia Krantz, Guggenheim Museum
Panelists: Santiago Gonzales D’Ambrosio, Reina Sofia (video link), Zeljak Susic and Zeljak Salihagic, Tifloloski Museum (Croatia); Alexis Karl and Alice Schwarz, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Professional training and learning environments (The Studio)
Chair: Paula Terry, Director, AccessAbility, National Endowment for the Arts
Panelists: Gordon Legge, University of Minnesota; Aymeric Vildieu, Alain Mikli International (France); Anita Hollander, Actress; Georgina Kleege, University of California, Berkeley
Museum accessibility and inclusion: Perspectives from conservators, curators, and educators: A conversation (note: this session will finish at 5:00) (The Carroll Classroom)
Chair: Richard Sandell, Director, Department of Museum Studies, Leicester University (UK)
Panelists: Lawrence Becker, Head of Objects Conservation, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Ian Wardropper, Chair, Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Douglas McCulloh, Curator, Sight Unseen; others tbc
Saturday, October 17, 2009
9:00 – 10:00 Registration and coffee (Uris Center for Education)
All day: Poster sessions (Studio):Edu-art, Monica Gorini and Gioia Aloisi (Italy); Tactile Paintings, Heather Bowring (UK); Stories Through Art: TOUCH, An Art Experience for the Senses, Patricia Maunder and Mary Pat Coyle; RAF Models, Rebecca Fuller; Design as storytelling at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Natacha Poggio (CT); Tiflološki muzej, Zeljka Susic (Croatia); Hard of Seeing Productions, Erich Manser (CA); Saraswathy Venkataraman, OT, University of Malaysia
10:00 – 10:15 Welcome (Lecture Hall)
10:15 –12:15 The science of the senses: Psychology and neuroscience (Lecture Hall)
Chair: Lotfi Merabet, Harvard Medical School
Introduction: Why neuroscience matters
Lotfi Merabet, Harvard Medical School
Semantics of the senses
Barbara Tversky, Teachers College, Columbia University
Wayfinding with visual impairment
Gordon Legge, University of Minnesota
Learning to see: A scientific and humanitarian approach
Pawan Sinha, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT
Studying the brain to learn about the mind
Alvaro Pascual-Leone, Harvard Medical Center
12:15 – 1:45 Lunch break (on your own)
1:45 – 3:30 Concurrent sessions
Educators’ perspectives on multisensory education (Lecture Hall)
Chair: Hannah Goodwin, Museum of Fine Arts (Boston)
Panelists: Nitza Horner, The Metropolitan Museum of Art;
Venkantesh Krishnappa, Chandana Art Foundation; Rodrigo Mendes, Rodrigo Mendes Institute
Discussant: Pawan Sinha, MIT
Technology and the senses (Art Study Room)
Chair: Mandayam A. Srinivasan, MIT Touch Lab and Lotfi Merabet, Harvard Medical School
Panelists: Josh Miele, Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute; Jaime Sanchez, University of Chile; Peter Meijer, Seeing with Sound (The Netherlands -video link); Sean White, Columbia University
Universal Design and multi-sensory environments (Carroll classroom)
Chair: Valerie Fletcher, Institute for Human-Centered Design
Panelists: Carlos Mourão Pereira, Architect (Portugal); Michael Schneider, artist and interaction designer, ESI; Eric Brun-Sanglard, The Blind Designer; Camilla Rhyl, Architect, Danish Building Research Institute (Denmark)
3:30 – 4:00 Break
4:00 – 5:30 Concurrent sessions
Soundscapes (Lecture Hall)
Chair: Joel Snyder, President, Audio Description Associates
Panelists: Edmund Mooney, Composer, Sound Artist and Acoustic Ecologist; Bruce Odland, Sound artist, composer, sonic observer of the visual culture; Lou Giansante, sound producer, Art Education for the Blind
Technology and the Senses II (Art Study Room)
Chair: Marcus Weisen, Manager, Jodi Awards for accessible digital culture and Museums and Galleries Without Barriers (UK, France)
Panelists: Glenda Sims, Knowbility Representative; Heather Smith, The National Trust (UK); Jonathan Whiting, WebAim
Touch objects as learning tools for diverse audiences (Carroll classroom)
Chair: Barbara Tersky, Teachers College, Columbia University
Panelists: Trish Maunder and Mary Pat Coyle, Exhibit Developers/Educators; Rebecca Fuller, RAF Models; Alain Mikli, Designer (France)
This conference is partially supported by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs New York State Council on the Arts