MUSEUMS AND PEOPLE WITH VISUAL DISABILITY: AN EXPLORATION AND IMPLEMENTATION THROUGH AN ERASMUS plus PROJECT

The access of people with disabilities to museums has become a major issue of interest for museums. Individuals with visual disabilities, which is one of the target groups of the present project, face many barriers regarding their access to museums, since museums are considered as spaces "of seeing" and "do not touch". The present project titled "Bridging the Gap between Museums and Individuals with Visual Impairments" aims to support museums to develop various practices in order to enhance the access and inclusion of people with visual disability into their context and content. Museums, as audience-centered spaces, are required to enhance the access and inclusion of individuals with visual disability. However, this is a challenging task for museums and requires the collaboration between museums and organizations involved in the education and the protection of individuals with visual disabilities. This need for collaboration and interagency partnerships is the basis of the project, which aims to bridge the gap between museums and individuals with visual disabilities.