[Art_beyond_sight_theory_and_research] "Art of Description" workshop at Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

[Lisa Yayla]

Art Beyond Sight (USA)
Friday, September 01, 2006

"Art of Description" workshop at Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

By Art Education for the Blind

The Art of Description: 

Tools and Techniques for Teaching People who are Blind and Partially Sighted 

A Full-day Workshop 

October 21, 2006 

Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York City 

Date and time: October 21, 10 - 4:30 p.m. Lunch break 12:30 - 2 p.m. Lunch is not included; participants will be provided with the list of restaurants in the area. 

Fee: $80 

Registration will be held on September 12, 13, and 14, 3:30-5:30 p.m. Register by calling 212-288-7733. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Enrollment is limited. 

This workshop will introduce the accessibility tools used to develop museum programming for people with visual impairments, focusing particularly on verbal description. Participants, including museum educators, museum administrators, and docents who work with audiences with disabilities, will develop practical skills in describing works of art to people who are blind and partially sighted, in both written and verbal forms. The two-part workshop will cover:

Interpretive learning tools overview and descriptive writing workshop: After a discussion of the broad range of tools used to create access to art for audiences with visual impairment, we will focus on description. Participants will review guidelines for writing descriptions, listen to sample descriptions of paintings, sculpture, and architecture, as well as try their hand at writing verbal descriptions.
  
Gallery workshop at The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Participants will explore methods for teaching art, through detailed and vivid description. Ample time will be allotted for participants to practice describing a diversity of objects in the Museum's collection. 

Workshop Special Features: 

In addition to the hands-on training that AEB and The Metropolitan Museum of Art will provide, AEB will review how to use our online Handbook for Museums and Educators. In the Handbook's accessible Programming A-Z, users learn how to develop an advisory board, launch a pilot program and outreach to their local community. The Handbook contains ready-to-use materials such as fact sheets, check lists for open houses and other events, meeting agendas, and fundraising tips.
  
A customized training packet will be developed when 80% of the participants have registered. The packet will be tailored towards the needs of the participants and is likely to include a combination of the following materials:
 
Disability Awareness Fact sheets on topics including: Considerations when working with people who are blind and partially sighted, types of visual impairments, and Sighted Guide technique. 
Guidelines for verbal description 
Guidelines for creating tactile diagrams 
Assessment tools to evaluate accessibility needs 
Planning tools and timetables for launching a pilot program 

The Accessibility Tools seminar will be followed by a FREE day-long multi-session phone conference crash course on Monday, October 30. The all-day phone conference course will build on the seminar's main themes, as well as bring new information from a group of international guest speakers. Each session lasts an hour and features 3 to 5 speakers and a Q&A session. Touch tours, conservation concerns, art-making and studio art practices associated with touch tours are among the discussion topics. AEB has conducted three successful educational phone conferences in the past, and they have been a part of the Art Beyond Sight Awareness Month from its inception. 

Organizers: This full-day workshop is organized by the Art Education for the Blind and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Art Education for the Blind: Art Education for the Blind has a unique mission:  to make art, culture, and visual information accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired.  AEB provides and promotes the many important skill-building, educational, psychosocial, and quality of life benefits of art education, museum visits, and art-making for children and adults with sight loss - to give those who cannot see equal access to the world's visual culture and the opportunity to experience the life-enhancing power of art. AEB develops and publishes innovative print and multi-media educational publications and resources designed for museum professionals and educators, including  Art Beyond Sight, a Resource Guide to Art, Creativity, and Visual Impairment, with a companion video co-produced by the Museum of Modern Art; and Art History Through Touch and Sound, AEB's most innovative work.  Designed for visually impaired readers as well as professionals, this is a comprehensive, 21-volume multi-media art history encyclopedia.

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Located at 1000 Fifth Avenue , The Metropolitan Museum of Art welcomes individuals of all abilities to view the collection and participate in educational programs. The Museum offers many programs and services for visitors with disabilities. For further information, please contact (212) 879-5500 ext.3561, TTY (212)570-3828, access at metmuseum.org, or visit 

www.metmuseum.org