A Critical Analysis of Accessible Museum Communication in London and Hong Kong
摘要
Access to art and culture should be a right granted to everyone. Because of the diversity of their audience in terms of age, background, and physical or cognitive impairments, exhibitions need to provide accessibility on different levels to make museums more inclusive and engaging [5]. Communication and translation practices play a crucial role in this regard, by addressing both the inherent diversity of the museum audience and the different types of semiotic constituents. Indeed, the 2000s saw the rise of museum Audio Description (AD), a practice used to describe cultural products of museums and exhibits, such as paintings, statues, or even entire archaeological sites [16]. The present research aims to observe how some of the most important museums in London and Hong Kong are approaching the issue of granting accessibility for a blind or visually impaired audience. A critical examination of the available tools is conducted to assess their appropriateness for this purpose, identifying any shortcomings.