Mind’s Eye Meet-Up
Saturday 16th May 2020 | Online Meet-Up | International Museum Day
The online conference “Mind’s Eye Meet Up – Art and Inclusion of Visually Impaired Persons: Practices and Suggestions for Implementation” aimed at a fruitful dialogue of exchange regarding inclusive practices on the accessibility of persons with visual impairments to the experience of art and culture. Invited speakers from the field of culture, education and the community of persons with visual impairments shared their experiences and presented practices that promote inclusion. The online Meet-Up served as an introductory event of the pilot project “Mind’s Eye | Touching Art “which was applied in part of the space and the collection of the MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art from June 2020. The event took place on May 16th, 2020, in the framework of the International Museum Day 2020 and is dedicated to the memory of Theodoros Konstas, the first blind tour guide in Greece.
Mind’s Eye MeetUp Programme
Moderator: Anastasaki Stela
Introduction-Greetings, Syrago Tsiara, Deputy Director, MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art-Collections of the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art and the State Museum of Contemporary Art
Vision-visual-perception, Stavrenia Koukoula, MD, PhD, Ophthalmic Surgeon, Specialisation in Electrophysiology of Vision and Genetic Diseases of the Retina, Institute of Ophthalmology & Microsurgery Ophthalmica
The application of the Mind’s Eye project in the space and collection of the MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art, Stela Anastasaki, Art Historian, Mind’s Eye Project Manager
Inclusion & Accessibility practices for people with visual disabilities in places of culture, Lia Avraam, Instructor of Mobility, Orientation & Everyday Living Skills for Persons with visual impairments, Center for the Education and Rehabilitation for the Blind Thessaloniki Branch
“Touching art” – Conclusions from the implementation of the accessibility program for people with partial or total vision loss, Chryssa Zarkali, Museologist, Public Relations & Communication Manager MOMus
Including people with visual impairments in culture and the arts: Access to and education in formal and non-formal learning environments, Chara Kanari, Special Education Professor, Museum educator and postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Special Education of the University of Thessaly
Tactile Investigation following the principles of the Loretta Seki method at the Tactile Museum of the Lighthouse for the Blind in Greece, Kalliopi Ghika, Artwork Guide for Visually Impaired People, Operations Manager Tactile Museum Athens, Lighthouse for the Blind in Greece
Audio Description and Visual Arts – The visual made verbal, Kerasia Michalopoulou, Audio Describer – Subtitling for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Liminal Access
Accessibility to Art, Ioanna Zacharou, Author of Children’s Books, Vice President of the Panhellenic Association of the Blind-Regional Union of Central Macedonia
Mobility and orientation training for the visually impaired during their professional training as a tour guide in museums and archeological sites, Panagiota Panou, Instructor of Mobility, Orientation and Everyday Living Skills, Panhellenic Association of the Blind – Regional Union of Eastern Macedonia
Watch the Meet-up
Language: Greek
Curated by: Stela Anastasaki in the context of Mind’s Eye
Production Assistance: Christina Vlachou, Argiro Barata, Natassa Panagou
GSL Interpretation: courtesy of Spyros Kouzelis
Partners: MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art-Collections of the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art and the State Museum of Contemporary Art, Center for Training and Rehabilitation of the Blind Thessaloniki Branch
Supported by: START – Create Cultural Change, a program of the Robert Bosch Stiftung, realized in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki and the Association of Socio-Cultural Centers supported by the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation and the Bodosakis Foundation.
