Last fall, Kerry participated (as community consultant of lived experience) in a virtual Inclusive Design Multisensory Museum course through Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD U). The instructor of that course was Melissa Smith, who works at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) as Assistant Curator, Access and Learning.

This week on Outlook we speak with Melissa and two students who took the course about what was covered throughout and about the multisensory translation projects the students were tasked with creating from artworks available at the AGO, all while figuring out how to adapt their work during Covid times.

We discuss art as a human right and how inclusivity is different in museums and galleries in different parts of the world, some of the challenges and opportunities of translating the artworks virtually, and Melissa shares some of the guest speakers she invited to present which offer as many diverse perspectives as possible.

We hear from students Parth Shah and Kyrie Robinson about their chosen art piece, a 60s sculpture by Claes Oldenburg titled Ice Cream Soda and Cookie and about all they gained by working, utilizing a multisensory approach to translating this sculpture, along with co-design and collective collaboration throughout.

A sculpture so good, you could almost eat it. What memories does ice cream and a cookie bring up for each of us?

As our show originally airs on Radio Western, we also mention how Melissa got her Masters in Art History from University of Western Ontario and we also give another shoutout of a tribute to recently deceased Outlook guest and longtime advocate John Rae whom Smith knew for several years after he’d reached out to her about accessibility at the AGO.

For more on Parth and Kyrie’s translation:

https://ago.ca/events/multisensory-moments-claes-oldenburgs-ice-cream-soda-cookie

And for a wider look at the AGO’s multisensory offerings, check out their website here:

https://ago.ca/learn/multisensory-museum

Finally, check out interviews with Melissa Smith and John Rae on an episode of Toronto’s Balance For Blind Adults podcast Living Blind:

https://www.balancefba.org/podcast/season-2-living-blind-podcast/