Sophie Lawler

Cultural institutions remain stubbornly ocular-centric, they’re designed by the sighted, for the sighted. My research investigates accessibility downfalls and missed opportunities across global museums, interrogating the vast distance between actual practices and what a truly inclusive and genuinely immersive experience should consist of for all visitors, including the vision impaired.

Non-visual experiences in cultural spaces enriches not only the vision impaired but everyone. Inclusivity is not accommodation; it is a design principle requiring planning and consideration from the beginning of the curatorial process.

Embracing multi-sensoriality including tactile and auditory elements in exhibits, does not diminish artistic experience but radically deepens it. Accessibility is not a concession, it is the most urgent creative challenge in contemporary cultural practice.