Art in the Dark

About the practice

Art in the Dark is a series of remote sensory workshops that encourages the reception of art, relying on the senses of hearing, touch, and smell. The workshops are available online and asynchronous, consisting of 14 episodes (10 audio and 4 videos) as well as educational materials.

Story behind

When the pandemic started, Bartek Lis (Head of Education Dep., responsible for adult education) proposed the idea to ZAMEK.  He had previous experience in organizing sensory workshops and guided exhibition tours for blind and visually impaired people in MWW (Muzeum Współczesne Wrocław), (with co-worker Magdalena Skowrońska), but Art in the Dark was the first online project of this kind for him and for ZAMEK as well.

About the institution

ZAMEK Culture Centre in Poznań is one of the biggest cultural institutions in Poland. ZAMEK is a place where visual arts, theatre, film, music, and literature intermingle and complement each other. The program consists of concerts, plays, art exhibitions, literary meetings, and film screenings.

Context

Art in the Dark is a series of remote sensory workshops organised by the ZAMEK Culture Centre in Poznań.

Success factors

The main goal was to create an online cultural offer for adults at the very beginning of the pandemic and to familiarise the audience with current offline exhibitions that took place at the ZAMEK, as well as to encourage them to discover visual art with senses other than sight. A detailed concept of the project emerged during the creative workshop with stakeholders, and also representatives of the target group were consulted. We have also defined:

• clearly defined target group,
• user-centered approach (the concept of the project was developed within the framework of creative workshops, and before proceeding to implementation it was presented to the group of recipients for consultation),
• audio & video were based on narrative using principles of storytelling rather than dry description.

Target audience

blind and visually impaired as well as sighted people who would like to explore art through various senses

Sustainability

The workshops have an asynchronous formula - this means that everyone could and still can take part in the self-paced form! The website meets WCAG 2.0 standards. Other animators & educators can conduct a similar workshop, both online or offline, based on educational materials that have been prepared.

Digital tools

In terms of technology, the project consists of quite simple components: a website with WCAG 2.0, audio and video recordings, and downloadable workshop materials, prepared partially by the ZAMEK team & contracted professionals.

Funding

The project was co-financed by the NCK's Culture Online program and the ZAMEK Culture Centre's own contribution.

Organization/ Institution
ZAMEK Culture Centre in Poznan
Good practice link
https://sztukawciemno.pl/
Address
ul. Św. Marcin 80/82, 61-809 Poznań, Polska
Contact person on good practice
Bartek Lis - Public Programme Curator, Public Programme Department, ZAMEK Culture Centre, originator & co-creator of the project: b.lis@ckzamek.pl