Stephanie Roberts

Now that I’ve felt it I can see: Audio Description as crossmodal translation in the visual arts: practice-based reflections 

Audio Description and Audio Described experiences are increasingly being used in the visual arts as an access provision. Through Audio Description, an encounter with an artwork is translated into multisensory equivalences, including verbal, tactile, audio, and olfactory. While traditionally intended as an access tool for people who are blind or partially blind, Audio Descriptions also have the potential to facilitate access and meaningful engagement with the visual arts for non-blind individuals, too. This presentation will draw on practice-based experience of delivering Audio Described talks and workshops, to consider some of the practical challenges, questions and methodological considerations that arise when translating an encounter with a piece of historic art into a cross-modal sensory experience. 

Bio: 

Steph Roberts is a disabled visual arts curator and creative collaborator based in Wales. She has over 15 years’ experience researching and exploring ways of making artworks more accessible, inclusive and relevant to contemporary audiences today. Her work focuses on disability justice, inclusion, and creative health, and she has worked with museums, hospitals, and in community settings.