Walking with Janet Cardiff, Sitting with Massimo Guerrera, and Eating Apples with R. Murray Schafer

Abstract

As Anthony Robbins once said “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got.” Now more than ever museums and galleries are seeking to attract new audiences and find innovative and meaningful ways to engage visitors. While these institutions aim to respond to their responsibility to provide access to their collections, new modes of interpretation are needed to ensure they reach a wider audience. This audience must include the ever-growing population of visitors with disabilities, who for too long have been denied their human right to cultural heritage. When it comes to visitors who are blind or partially sighted, many art galleries are left scrambling to find ways to provide quality programming and access to their all too often “untouchable” art collections. Unfortunately, sometimes this means that visitors with visual impairments are segregated for specialized programming, isolating them from their sighted friends and family members. This article will provide examples of how The National Gallery of Canada has adapted public programs and developed new ways for diverse audiences of various ages and abilities to come together in inclusive settings. Furthermore it will explore how interactive and participatory art can be instrumental in providing meaningful museum experiences and opportunities for multisensory engagement, which in turn offer an entry point for new visitors. Visitors do not require a PhD in art history to “get it,” they need simply to show up and participate. What is notable here is that these experiences are not watered down or simplified—in fact the contrary. The outcomes of these programs and exhibitions suggest that