Experiencing art with a visual impairment

Everyone is welcome at M, That is why the museum organises tours for blind and visually impaired people too. But how on earth do you do explain visual objects to people who are entirely or almost entirely blind? We go out and about with Marie-José, Munia, Anne-Lieze and Bob and their companions: "I need to know what can be seen in a painting. That's a real urge"

Marie-José has been visually impaired since birth, the other two have gradually lost their sight. All four love art and this is not their first museum visit.

Anne-Lieze: "I found my very first tour for visually impaired people very tough and frustrating. Afterwards, I thought: never do that again, it only makes me upset. It was very confronting, because I used to be able to see. That lasted for a few years, until a friend, a real lover of art, told me: 'Come with me anyway. You may not get as much out of it as you used to, but it will still be worthwhile.' That is indeed how I think like now, and I really enjoy visiting museums again."

Munia: "I come from an art-loving family and I used to draw a lot and I loved that. Not being able to draw was my biggest frustration when I started losing my sight. A tour of a museum like this one is compensation for me. I do it quite often."

Bob: "I have visited many museums, but never with a guide that specifically explains things to blind people. Usually, my companion Ludmila describes the works."

Marie-José: "My parents used to take me to museums and I have never really stopped going. For example, when I go on holiday, I often pop into a museum. Or a church. I find stained-glass windows so beautiful."

Glove

Anne, the guide, does not start with explanations about art or the museum, but with very practical information: "We are now in the lobby, in the basement and soon we will take the stairs to the ground floor. The handrail is on the right." She keeps that up all the time, describing the space where the artworks are and the path the group should follow.

The first stop is Constantin Meunier's 'The Sower', one of M's masterpieces. Anne describes the sculpture in great detail explaining its exact size, the material it is made of, the which pedestal it stands on, the pose the sower assumes, what his facial expression is... She also covers the information you get during an ordinary guided tour about the artist, his life and the sculpture's place in his oeuvre. At the end, Marie-José, Munia, Bob and Anne-Lieze are each given a glove. They get to feel the feet of the sculpture so they can better imagine how big the work really is. Anne also asks if anyone would like to try to imitate the sower's pose. Bob is a candidate, and succeeds wonderfully with a few minor pointers. Isn't that very difficult, just based on a description from a little while ago? "We are used to listening very attentively to descriptions and to memorising that information. All you have to do is take a look, but for us, such a description is often all we have."

Rondleiding voor blinde en slechtziende bezoekers in de museumzalen van M Leuven — © Rebecca Fertinel voor M Leuven

Bezoekers met een visuele beperking beleven kunst in M Leuven — © Rebecca Fertinel voor M Leuven

New art

The next stop is a work from 2020: 'Nuclear Plant' by Lisa Vlaemminck (born 1992). Again, Anne first talks about the space and context, and then describes the painting itself in great detail. At the very end, she brings out a piece of swell paper, a relief image of the flower pot with plants, the main element on the work. Bob, Anne-Lieze, Munia and Marie-José take it in turns to feel the image. Anne leads their hand and explains. Their reaction is unanimously positive, this really helps when imagining the painting.

Anne-Lieze: "It is a form in itself. You can use it to make a new kind of art with, especially for us."

Rondleiding voor blinde en slechtziende bezoekers in M Leuven — © Rebecca Fertinel voor M Leuven

Shoe off

The third and final stop is in the old part of the museum: a 19th-century portrait of the Dutch admiral's daughter Nelly Rijk and her young son. Again, a detailed description that includes the dimensions of the work and even a few words about the gilded frame. The painting is by Leuven artist Jean-Baptiste van der Hulst and was donated to the museum by Nelly's descendants at the end of the last century.

The companions, too, are really helped by this information. We had seen that at the previous works too but here it became very noticeable.

Annie, Anne-Lieze’s companion: "Anne told us that the child had taken off a shoe and held it in his right hand. I hadn't noticed that myself. Hearing descriptions like that makes start looking more." Tine, Munia’s companion: "I hadn't paid attention to the mother's bracelet at all until Anne talked about it. Silly, because it's a beautiful thing, and very nicely rendered too."

Slowly but surely

Time for reflection. First conclusion: three works is more than enough for a tour.

Anne-Lieze: "It's intense for us. You have to concentrate tremendously hard on the explanations. If you let your attention wander just for a moment, you lose the thread. Three works may seem few, but for me this was perfect. Visual impairment slows down your life, that is certainly my experience. Everything takes longer: getting dressed, going somewhere... as we get used to that slower pace, we also dare to take more time."

Munia: "Yes, looking back to when I had more sight, I was definitely less focused then. Now I really want to know what is in that painting. We probably have that urge more."

Bob: "When you are blind or visually impaired, you experience things in a different way. Sometimes that is deeper. Now, I can really enjoy things where, before, I probably would have said ‘I'm not going to go there’, or I would have just passed by, thinking ‘I’ve seen that now’."

Gift

The tour itself proved to be a hit with everyone.

Bob: "Every museum should really have this. I could really picture the works."

Marie-José: “Absolutely. The explanations were super good. I also loved that swell paper with the flowers. Anne told us about the rooms and you can tell then that she has a very good feel for blind and visually impaired people. You do pick up things yourself – the first room had a high ceiling, you can hear that immediately from the reverberations – but it still helps if you have a good idea of where you are. That all contributes to a successful tour."

"I also liked that she named the colours of the works. For 'The Sower', for example, she said the plinth is dark blue. Useful, because for me it might just as well be dark grey."

Munia: "For me, the colours are fading. I think that's a shame, but the descriptions today have helped me remember them."

"I often do tours like this, and as far as I am concerned, Anne does an excellent job. She gives you the info you need, and that's what matters. I would advise all visually impaired people to come and try it too."

Anne-Lieze: "Including people who are not visual impaired, by the way. When I say I want to visit a museum, there is always someone willing to guide me. People really enjoy doing that. They learn to see things differently. That's a gift."

More inclusive step-by-step

Charlotte Van Peer is Public Liaison Officer at M and helps ensure that the museum is as accessible as possible. A few years ago, she and colleagues mapped out a route to offer blind and visually impaired visitors the best possible art experience.

Charlotte: "In 2010, so before I started here, M launched a project for people with visual impairment: 'Realm of the senses'. It was a great success, but due to a lack of people and resources, it fizzled out a bit unfortunately. Then, a year or two ago, we picked up the thread. We started by putting together focus groups with blind and visually impaired people. They explored the museum in different ways: with a guide, with an audio guide in which the works were described in detail, alone and in groups... Extensive research that gave us a lot of information. Based on that, we wrote a plan and we are now implementing that plan."

"We trained our guides, the reception staff and the public attendants. We also bought a swell form machine so we can make our own swell papers. In addition, we have started working with tactile objects, and we have been given the okay for blind or visually impaired visitors to touch some of the artworks."

"We will provide a detailed audio description like this of the works for every exhibition with an audio guide, so essentially the major exhibitions. We have added little studs the buttons on our audio guides to make them easy to feel. We have enlarged visitor plans available and we organise entry-level tours for the target group. Making the museum more inclusive and accessible one step at the time: that is what we are all working hard on here.