Camera is the first Italian cultural reality to have created a permanent multi-sensory and multimedia exhibition, La storia della fotografia nelle tue mani, retracing the fundamental stages of the history of photography in a way accessible to all; a project for the renovation of Camera’s spaces, adopting a design-for-all model for more inclusive participation, without physical or cognitive barriers. The photographs that form the exhibition itinerary are reproduced on visual tactile panels capable of bringing together different types of enjoyment in a single medium: they can be gazed at in the literal sense of the word or with the support of videos in LIS Italian sign language in the case of deaf people, but also explored tactilely thanks to audio descriptions and captions in Braille suitable for blind or visually impaired people. In order to make this project a basis for the further development of inclusivity in public and private cultural spaces, Camera promoted a meeting dedicated to the theme of accessibility, presenting its experience in the field of photography and its history.
The meeting, which is open to the public and will take place on 13 December 2023 at the Chamber of Deputies Gymnasium from 14.30 to 18.30 pm, will not only look at what has been done to date, but also at the prospects for future developments. Thanks to the involvement of numerous professionals specialised in this field, it aims to provide an overview of initiatives and projects dedicated to accessibility, in which public institutions play a leading role in collaboration with private bodies, associations and institutions. The meeting will open with greetings from Walter Guadagnini, artistic director of Camera, and from representatives of the main institutions involved in the issues of accessibility and inclusion, including the Ministry of Culture, the Piedmont Region and the City of Turin. The protagonists of the Open Camera project, Cristina Araimo, head of Educational Activities, Monica Poggi, curator and head of Exhibitions, and Carlo Spinelli, Secretary General, illustrate its conception and realisation. The presentations on accessibility of cultural places and spaces will be followed by Giovanni Laiolo, President of UICI Unione Italiana dei Ciechi e degli Ipovedenti of Turin; Nicola Della Maggiora, deaf actor, lecturer and interpreter of LIS/IS Istituto dei Sordi of Turin; Enrico Dolza, director of the Institute for the Deaf in Turin and lecturer in special education at the University of Turin; Elisabetta Grande, psychopedagogue and lecturer at the Department of Philosophy and Education at the University of Turin; Rocco Rolli, architect and director of the Tactile Vision Lab. The writer and activist Marina Cuollo will then lead an in-depth discussion on the concept that cultural accessibility should not only be a moral obligation, but above all a universal right.
The meeting will be further enriched by an artistic contribution from Diana Anselmo, president of Al.Di.Qua. Artists, who will present the work ‘Self-portrait in three acts’. This work explores the theme of the gaze – one’s own, one’s suffered and the regaining of identity by those who live it, freeing themselves from the stereotypes imposed by external gazes – and offers an authentic narrative of disability experienced in the first person. In the afternoon, Francesca Paola Leon, Project Manager and Business Developer representing ETT, will discuss the synergy between the physical and the digital to seize the various opportunities of an increasingly inclusive design. The accessible paths of Camera are realised with the project support of ETT. The session can be attended in person or via streaming.
For more details, see the event programme, and to register and book visit the activities booking page.