Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
A MUSEUM FOR MANY
Crystal Bridges inclusion programs serve diverse groups
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art greatly expanded its programming and exhibition materials this year in an effort to increase access for its guests.
“Picturing the Americas,” a traveling exhibit of more than 100 landscape paintings from Canadian, United States and South American artists, was the first exhibition presented in two languages — English and Spanish.
The museum’s partners in the exhibition collaborated to provide proper translation of the exhibit’s title, introduction and seam panels throughout the galleries, as well as a family guide, packet of explanatory labels for the artworks and advertising in Spanish. Those partners included the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Pinacoteca do Estado de Sao Paulo of Brazil and Terra Foundation for American Art.
“We thought this exhibition might be more interesting to everybody but especially those of Spanish, Hispanic or Latino heritage,” said Robin Groesbeck, director of exhibitions and interpretive presentations. “It was a good [first] to try out bilingual materials in … laying it out and making sure each are legible, big enough … and very readable.”
The large amount of exhibition content available and the short time frame for production meant that not all information got translated, such as digital supplements, but the exhibit was a good first effort, Groesbeck said.
The initiative to offer translation supplements came out of one of the museum’s advisory groups that has a Latino focus. The group gives staff members ideas for how to make this segment of the population feel more welcome.
The primary purpose of a bilingual exhibit is to provide a way for those learning English to experience the galleries more fully, but there’s more to it.
“We found that even as the user reads and speaks English, it’s still useful to provide materials,” Groesbeck said. “It shows we’re respectful of that culture and gives us a sense of what would be most helpful to them in the process.”
The interpretive team now must decide whether to provide a baseline of bilingual materials for the permanent collection or interpret only relevant exhibitions in the future.
New to museum staff are an audience research expert, two exhibition interpreters, an exhibition designer and two staff members dedicated to access and inclusion. They were hired or promoted to their new positions in 2015 to better serve visitors with various special needs or requests.
The exhibition interpreters field comments and suggest changes that focus on enhancing visibility of the art and interpretive materials.
“Interpreters work with our curators to ensure that whatever text we write or materials we produce are accessible to a broad audience,” Groesbeck said, including “the creation of labels, activities, brochures, tours and audio guides.”
Some small changes made major improvements. Putting labels in a consistent place helped guests with poor vision find them more easily and using higher contrast text colors made displays easier to read. Rearranging the angle of items in display cases and tilting labels enabled those in wheelchairs to experience more of the exhibit than they had before.
‘DIVERSE AUDIENCES’
Most programs within the newly created access and inclusion department at Crystal Bridges are there to serve guests with language barriers and guests with disabilities.
“Our goal is to work collaboratively in the community and with organizations to co-develop programs for diverse audiences,” said Amanda Driver, manager of access and inclusion programs.
They are “to welcome all, celebrate the American spirit. That’s what drives us.”
Creative Connections, a collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association of Arkansas and the Schmieding Center for Health and Education, brings Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers to the museum 12 times a year for gallery discussions and art making.
A partnership with the Literacy Council of Benton County “focuses on speaking, listening, reading and writing in the galleries,” Driver said. “They learn English through the discovery of American art, culture and history in a great experience that cultivates that social environment.”
The literacy program also expanded to include the Ozark Literacy Council of Fayetteville and Springdale Family Literacy for a monthly event of practicing English through discussions of art and sends guests home with worksheets to continue the experience off-site.
Last year the museum’s literacy program began providing transportation with the help of an in-kind donor and drew 178 adults learning English to the museum, and 200 or more are expected in 2016. Previous sessions took place only during business hours, but a new summer evening series is planned this year.
Both Creative Connections and the collaboration with the Literacy Council of Benton County predate the formation of the inclusion department, but their collective success indicated that other, similar programs might thrive at Crystal Bridges,
Driver said.
ADAPTABLE ACTIVITIES
Beginning in April is a family program for children ages 11 to 18 diagnosed with autism. A focus group helped inform the museum that this age range was underserved within the autism community; there were resources for elementary aged children and some for adults, but nothing in between.
The new program allows preteens and teenagers get hands-on art lessons and activities that appeal to all senses, much like other family programming but with the added service of a sensory space and reflective area.
The range of activity and social involvement is helpful for children on the autism spectrum because “some are sensory seekers … and some are sensory avoiders,” Driver said. “We try to recognize that and be as flexible as possible by creating activities and things that are adaptable based on what everyone needs.
“We’re like that with the general public, too.”
A collaboration with nonprofit 99 Balloons resulted in rEcess, a regular program that sends children with disabilities and their siblings on a multisensory explorations of art while providing their parents a chance for a night out.
During rEcess, children often make art based on the current exhibition, and the museum makes guided tours available for their parents.
Crystal Bridges is increasingly active with outreach programs to nonprofits focused on adults with disabilities, such as Life Styles Inc., Open Avenues and the Elizabeth Richardson Center.
The students of Launch, an education program within Life Styles Inc., visit the museum three times a semester. Prior to the trip, they study and discuss a quote of a notable person and while at the museum, search for artwork that relates to it. In the Crystal Bridges studio, they reflect on the connection between the two and create art to express that connection.
The only off-site program is in partnership with Open Avenues, a nonprofit that helps adults with disabilities integrate with the community by gaining life and work skills. The access and inclusion team visits Open Avenues clients once a month over their lunch break to discuss a work of art or exhibit and
hand out coupons to encourage them to visit the museum in person.
A program with the Elizabeth Richardson Center combines that on- and offsite approach in projects and activities based on posters of artwork from the permanent collection to make clients’ first connections with historic art.
As much as programming has grown in the past year, Driver and Groesbeck hope it comes across as one of many ways for guests to visit rather than an exclusive invitation to specific, demographic driven programming.
“We have inclusive programs specific for this audience or day or time, but those are not the only thing that’s available to them,” Driver said. “We want people to be able to participate in all different programs. We just want to have more options for people who may choose to attend.”