Osoby z niepełnosprawnością i sztuka. Udostępnianie – percepcja – integracja
People with Disabilities and Art. Making Art More Accessible – Perception – Integration

Contributor(s): Aneta Pawłowska (Editor), Julia Sowińska-Heim (Editor), Anna Wendorff (Editor)
Subject(s): Visual Arts, Sociology of Culture, Sociology of Art
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Keywords: people with disabilities; museum; art; accessibility; interdisciplinarity
Summary/Abstract: This present monograph provides a reflection concerning the current state of knowledge, as well as practical results relating to concepts and problems of making more accessible within the museum space various visual arts (both traditional works of art as well as contemporary art forms) to people with various physical or mental dysfunctions and how these forms must be adapted in different ways according to the persons' perception with different dysfunctions such as visual, aural, intellectual etc. The largest part of this publication was devoted to presentation of different problems concerned with making art more accessible to people with dysfunction of sight (Part One entitled “The World Exists but Without Eyes We are Unable to See It”). In the Second Part of this monograph, entitled “With the Eyes of the Butterfly”, we presented articles relating to the ways of making the museum space more accessible to people with impaired hearing and discussed various problems concerning the perceiving of the phenomena of visual fine arts in the environment of its’ deaf recipients. An important assembly of problems and questions also tackled by the authors of this book, which we are proudly handing over now to the reader, was the fine matter of difficult accessibility of art for persons with various intellectual disorders, the problem of integration of the handicapped persons within the museum space and the importance, meaning and vitality of art in the life of people with various physical or mental dysfunctions as means of helping them to become more entwined and connected with the “normal” society. To describe this subject matter we devoted the majority of Part Three entitled “The Universe as Seen Through the Eyes of a Other”. However it must be stated that this book is primarily intended for all persons who are theoretically or practically dealing everyday with the problem of attempting to make more accessible the works of art within the museum space to all persons with various mental or physical disorders. We hope and trust that many art historians, museum educators, architects, sociologists, psychologists, cultural studies experts, linguists, translators, museum staff, curators and designers will find this book useful in their everyday work. “This elaboration – should also become an essential reading for everyone of us – for all fellow-citizens coexisting in our society with the disabled or handicapped persons. After reading this book, we hope that – many of our readers will decide to change the notion of ‹‹exclusion›› and to replace it with the notion of ‹‹coexistence››. And hopefully the ‹‹Other›› will finally become ‹‹exactly the same›› as we perceive ourselves” (citation quoted verbatim from a review of the book by professor habilitated doctor Jan Wiktor Sienkiewicz).

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