For a few years now, Escher in The Palace has been working on making the museum accessible to as many people as possible. Ways in which we have done so include making alterations within the museum to allow for independent museum visits, adjusting our guided tours, and increasing our website’s accessibility. For the past three years, the museum has been focusing on becoming more accessible to people with a visual impairment.
To do so, Escher in The Palace has joined forces with The Hague University of Applied Sciences, high school ISW Hoogeland, foundation Koninklijke Visio, foundation Kubes and foundation Voorall. This collaboration has resulted in two important developments. First, a guided tour for blind and visually impaired people, in which Escher’s themes are explained by means of specially developed touch objects. Additionally, three interactive multisensory objects have been designed: 3D versions of the prints Reptiles, Depth and Relativity, which stimulate visitors through audio and by letting them feel the objects. The focus in this is on independent museum visits and sparking conversation between those who see and those who don’t.
Both projects entailed an intensive collaboration between students, the museum, the target group and the producer. This is why the learning and developing process for all involved parties was at least as valuable as the end result. A process that in the long term contributes just as much to an inclusive world as the multisensory objects themselves. And this hasn’t gone unnoticed. Escher in The Palace received the jury prize of the RAAK Stimuleringsprijs 2020 for this project.
The multisensory objects have now been added to the interactive exhibition on the second floor of the museum. This film tells the story of how the project came about. Because we want the film to be accessible as well, subtitles and audio description have been added. A text alternative for the recorded audio is also available. This accessible version was made using Scribit.pro’s software