AT THE ALLEN / SPRING 2024 / 5 corresponded over months to discuss physical layout, educational elements, wayfinding, the Allen App, and other ways the Allen could expand access to people with disabilities. These focus group participants gave insights that shaped the creation of the didactic materials and the seating. In creating this exhibition, I am faced with implications of being sighted and leading a project centered on blind and low-vision accessibility. It is necessary to continue to think about this throughout my work, as well as the Allen’s future accessibility projects. As museumprofessionals, we must be conscious of our positionality in curating, programming, and teaching. Studies on disability acknowledge this balance with the idea of “move up, move up.” This asks those who are less inclined to contribute to “move up” to a role of speakingmore, or for someone who tends to speak a lot, that they “move up” into a role of listening more. The “up/up” confirms that in both experiences, growth is happening. Recognizing that not everyone can “step,” using “move” broadens the form of interaction so that it is not limited to a physical motion. By “moving up” into the listening role, and havingmy focus group “move up” to the speaking role, their voices and experiences are the driving force in the exhibition’s design. The Allen’s commitment to inclusion is exemplified by this outreach, which puts the participants in the role of experts. The phrase, “Nothing About UsWithout Us,” from the field of disability studies and activism, enforces the need for representation through participation. This slogan was coined by disability activist groups in South Africa in the 1990s and speaks to the erasure andmisrepresentation of people with disabilities. Centering those who would use accessible resources ensures that the programs or materials offered are beneficial rather than gratuitous. This exhibition offers a variety of modes of engagement including 3D replicas of original artwork, audio descriptions, large font and braille labels, and supplemental information housed on the Allen App. Creating accessibility-oriented resources can help all, as these options engage the four main learning styles: visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. This exhibition strives to illuminate how supplemental resources created for people with disabilities are beneficial to all visitors, and highlight the Allen’s expansion of accessibility. —Ellis Lane (OC 2022), Curatorial Assistant, Education Department Digital Reimaginings: Printing Towards Accessibility is on view in the Northwest Ambulatory from January 27 through May 26, 2024. “Art is something that most people just assume is not ever going to be accessible, and you’re working to change that. I hope this exhibit finds great success and leads to evenmore great advancements in the future…Half the battle is making things accessible; the other half is getting blind people to know about it so they come.” —Focus group participant Opposite left: Unrecorded English Artist, Chessman: Knight, ca. 1120–40. Ivory with traces of gilding and color. R. T. Miller Jr. Fund, 1948.310. Opposite right: A hand holds a 3D-printed and painted reproduction of the Chessman: Knight. Below left: Assistant Preparator Michael Reynolds works with Lane to scan an object for the exhibition. Below center: Lane meets with TomBabinszki fromEven Grounds Accessibility Consulting who was a member of the focus group. Below right: After the 3D-printedmodels were made, Lane worked to perfect the details.
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