project on accessibility to art and reading

"Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community,

to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits."

Article 27.1 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

Accessibility is a sensitive and complex theme to which the Palazzo delle Esposizioni's Art Workshop is devoting a special project to reflect on new pathways and mediation tools for offering all kinds of audiences access to art and reading.

The work of art and the book are two parallel pathways, in view of each one's huge educational potential, along which the Art Workshop is moving under the banner of accessibility. Thus the project is not exclusive but inclusive because it rhymes with diversity and richness.

Getting under way in 2014 at the , in conjunction with Museum Association, with sensoral pathways and tours of the Frida Kahlo and Matisse Arabesque exhibitions for those both with and without sight, it is now continuing at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni with the acquisition of books, round tables, workshops and exhibitions for all.

EXHIBITIONS FOR ALL
Inclusive exhibitions of books and tactile works, accessible in architectural, economic and sensoral terms, expressly designed by the Art Workshop, such as its One Way exhibition (21 November 2016 to 26 February 2017).

ART BOOKSHELF – ACCESSIBILITY SECTION
Points of View is also a project for the purchase of books and for encounters designed to make the Palazzo delle Esposizioni Art Bookshelf's precious assets accessible to anyone and in every sense of the word.

The most sizeable acquisition concerns TIBs – Tactile Illustrated Books – or artist's tactile books produced by the National Federation of Institutions for the Blind Onlus and by French publisher Les Doigts Qui Rêvent. These are books that use various expedients to place those who can and cannot see on the same level, optimising their differences and the unique features of each.

The tactile books are matched by illustrated books and albums in sign language that use graphic expedients to prompt us to reflect on what difference means, offering us the perception of an alternative and truly fascinating form of communication. The accessibility section is also enriched with quality illustrated albums which, without being specifically themed, have disabled boys and girls as their main characters. Thus these are books with which such children can finally identify and which offer us a different take on reality.

In addition to this kind of book that demolishes physical and sensoral barriers, silent books deserve a special section on our Bookshelf. These silent books entrust their narrative to images alone, overcoming linguistic and social or cultural obstacles and forming part of the project entitled "Silent books.  Final destination Lampedusa" produced in conjunction with IBBY Italia.

These books have an extremely lofty potential and, in their own specific way, are extremely versatile and valuable for a variety of audiences, from refugees and immigrants to young children or the deaf. For instance, one has but to think of the beauty of a silent reading in a class of students with or without hearing who use this tool to achieve equal enjoyment of the book.

 
PROJECTS FOR SPECIAL AUDIENCES

The Points of View project has, over time, added two projects to its schedule dedicated to specific audiences.  In the firm belief that the museum plays a social actor's role and that everyone has the right to culture, we have endeavoured to open up our spaces to categories either directly or indirectly barred from access to the Palazzo and to our activities.

A PALAZZO ALL OF MY OWN!

Set up in 2016 in response to a specific wish voiced by several families in the Let's Play group and by the Palazzo delle Esposizioni's Education Services - Art Workshop, the Palazzo All of My Own! project comprises a cycle of readings and art workshops devoted to pediatric oncology and hematology patients.

On one day every month, the exhibition area opens its doors exclusively to these younger visitors, in order to offer them an opportunity to meet and to play with other children under the banner of art and reading, through the Art Bookshop's books and workshops: a moment in which they can experiment together with artistic languages and techniques.

The project is funded by the Daniele Mariano Association.

OUT OF CENTRE
Begun in conjunction with the Mental Health Department in May 2016, this is a pilot scheme on a monthly basis devoted to young adults with issues from a number of experimental early operation UOC's (Complex Operational Units). The primary aim is to get the youngsters out of their daycare and community centres and to bring them into a cultural area in the city on standard opening days and in the same way as any standard adult visitor. After a number of preparatory meetings on the Art Bookshelf's books and their attendant workshop activities, the group, comprising young adults aged between 16 and 25, visits the current exhibitions at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni.

info

Art Bookshelf
guided consultations every Tuesday and Thursday (except for public holidays) from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm
Forum - Palazzo delle Esposizioni
Via Milano, 13, Rome

sensoral pathways, exhibitions, round tables, special audiences (check the schedule)