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Touching Thailand - NMV Blind Access Project

Background

The first touch program of the Blind Access Project at the National Museum Bangkok was run at the Museum in February 2007. This entire project is a collaboration between the National Museum Bangkok (NMB), the Thailand Association of the Blind (TAB) and the National Museum Volunteers (NMV).

The overall objective of this project is to ensure that blind and sighted visitors to the NMB have the opportunity to learn about Thai art and history through touch.

Many people have contributed to this project. The project’s form and the content have evolved through a flexible, creative and interactive process between program partners, various individuals who have contributed ideas and also international museums who have provided advice. The project has incorporated creative and cross cultural ideas in an open and welcoming way.

Scan Photo: Bangkok Post article headline "Art with a human touch"

The Bangkok Post Outlook (06 February 2006) section’s front page headline read ‘Art with a human touch’. Describing touch programs available for blind people in North American museums, the article explained that “the image formed in the blind person’s mind is…identical to the image formed in the sighted person’s mind”.

As the National Museum Volunteers (NMV) is dedicated to assisting visitors to access the National Museum Bangkok, after reading this article, Susy Barry, an Australian volunteer with the Thailand Association of the Blind (TAB) and NMV, decided to work on the idea of making the museum blind friendly by developing an access program for the blind and partially sighted. If there could be special access programs in various international museums, why not in Bangkok too?

The NMV’s primary role is to provide English, German, French and Japanese guides for the free tours that are available at the NMB. With increasing numbers of people travelling when they retire and a likelihood of more visitors with low vision coming to the NMB, the NMV decided to support the development of the blind access project.

At the same time, the NMV approached the TAB President, Acharn Monthian Buntan, to inquire about the TAB’s interest in the development of programs for blind Thais. Acharn Monthian was very supportive and as a first step, agreed to send two blind Youth Club members to join the NMV’s annual guiding workshop. In February 2007, Khun Kannica (Yui) Wongpen and Khun Piyakorn (Ball) Monikonsappakit, attended the lectures (in English) and on several occasions, joined NMV members to visit the Museum’s galleries.

The NMB has a selection of copies of key Thai works of art which include the Ramkahmhaeng stone, a Dvaravati wheel of the law and a lintel from Prasart Phanom Rung. These are used by the NMB in community education programs. Senior NMB curator, Khun Jarunee Incherdchai, introduced Yui and Ball to these. The NMV and Khun Jarunee discussed how blind visitors could access the NMB’s collections and then talked with the then Director of the NMB, Khun Somchai na Nakhonpathom.

During his term as Director, one of Khun Somchai’s priorities has been to make the NMB more accessible to people with physical disabilities. Having visited MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York and been impressed by their various visitor programs, he fully endorsed the development of the blind access program as the first stage in improving overall accessibility for all.

In April 2007, Khun Somchai hosted the first committee meeting of the project. This was attended by curators Khun Jarunee and Khun Sirin Yuanyaidee from the NMB, Acharn Monthian and his staff member Khun Wipana from the TAB and Barb Maidelis and Susy Barry from the NMV.

The three groups worked in partnership. The Thai side (NMB and TAB) agreed to design Thai programs for adults and school children while the NMV side would design programs in English for foreigners. Other languages (French, German and Japanese) may follow. Khun Somchai proposed using blind Thai guides in the programs. Yui, with her knowledge of the NMB and her experience with the NMV, became a volunteer advisor. Over the months, this group met several times to progress the project.

The NMV gathered a group of interested members to form their own NMV blind project team and these members collected ideas for touch programs. During the next months, these were shared between the Thai and foreign working groups. The project began to evolve and a draft schedule developed. At the same time, several activities brought experience and knowledge to the project and helped move it to its launch date.

Activity One:

Touch Session for the Blind: SE Asian Ceramics Museum, Bangkok University, Rangsit Campus

Touch Session for the Blind: SE Asian Ceramics Museum,Bangkok University, Rangsit Campus.

With the generous assistance of the late Dr. Roxanna Brown, an NMV member and then Director of the S.E.Asian Ceramics Museum at Bangkok University, TAB members and Acharn Monthian took part in a session to learn about ceramics through touch. NMV members assisted the Ceramics Museum’s curators and NMB’s Khun Somchai and Khun Sirin attended to observe. Sukhothai, Sawankhaloke and Chinese ceramics were handled by the participants.

Activity Two:

Ceramic touch programm: NMV team learns touching the ceramics

Touch Session for the NMV Blind Project team: SE Asian Ceramics Museum,Bangkok University, Rangsit Campus.

The late Dr. Brown held a second session so that NMV blind access project group and NMV patron, MR Chakrarot Chitrabongs, could learn to identify ceramics using touch. Participants were blindfolded while handling original Sukhothai, Sawankhaloke and Chinese ceramics. This activity gave team members the opportunity to use touch as a way of learning and to realise the value of developing touch tours for the NMB access project.

Activity Three:

Book cover "Art beyond sight" and entry to the National Scotland Gallery

Overseas research

While travelling, several NMV members visited international museums and met curators, collecting information about existing blind access programs.

The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York donated their ‘Art Beyond Sight’ resource book and DVD and these have been invaluable to the NMB project.

The German National Museum in Nuremberg (KPZ) provided information on how to practice ‘hands on museum tours’ as well as ways to prepare a ‘senses room’.

The Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh described their handling boxes and the special touch tours organised on request. The British Museum, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery as well as the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh all contributed advice about handling programs, exhibition presentation for the blind, tactile art and staff training.

The Burrell in Glasgow produced their audio tapes and Braille catalogues and many staff in all these Museums gave their time and assisted with information and suggestions.

The project is very grateful to them all for their generous participation.

Activity Four:

Meeting with Thailand’s museum curators and officials

In July 2007, the NMB organised a meeting for curators from museums and galleries in Thailand, officials from the Office of National Museums and members of the NMV blind project group. Together, they viewed and discussed the ‘Art Beyond Sight’ DVD, donated to the project by MOMA. Yui spoke about her experiences in the NMB and her ideas for access programs. At the end of the meeting, officials indicated that NMB’s blind access project would be a pilot for Thailand.

Activity Five:

Photo: NMV member and MNB curators meeting; Buddha statues and ancient jewelery on the table

NMV meet with NMB curators

In late October 2007, the NMV Blind Project team discussed possible program designs with Khun Jarunee and Khun Sirin. Central to their request was the hope that foreign blind visitors could learn about Buddhism and Buddhist art by touching a Buddha image because touch would assist them to learn.

The special features of the Buddha, including the mudras and asanas and other physical features would be most effectively learned about if Buddha statues could be touched. In making this request, the NMV was aware that this may have been a culturally inappropriate request because of the deep respect sown towards Buddha images. The curators discussed the request with Khun Somchai.

Activity Six:

First touch programm; Blind guests touching Buddha statues

First touch programs are designed

In early 2008, Khun Jarunee and Khun Sirin invited the NMV project team to see nine Buddha images (copies) which Khun Somchai and the curators had selected from the NMB’s store plus figurines, jewellery and clay pots. The program outlines, venue, verbal descriptions and activities were discussed with TAB. Khun Somchai introduced the Buddha images and also announced that the blind access programs would be part of the Museum’s regular education activities. NMB staff were blindfolded as part of their training and preparation for the programs.

Activity Seven:

Pilot Program for Blind Access Project: Saturday 23 February

Pilot Program for Blind Access Project: Saturday 23 February.

20 young participants from the Bangkok School of the Blind participated in the first access program pilot and afterwards, gave their feedback to the NMB. The day was a great success and was attended by Acharn Monthian and staff from TAB as well as the NMV blind project team.

Activity Eight:

First Pilot programme in English: touching especially selected Bodhisattva statue

Pilot of touch tour in English: Buddhism and the Features of a Buddha Statue

A group of NMV members participated in the first pilot program in English. They learned about Buddhism as well as the features of the Buddha while touching specially selected Buddha statues.

Activity Nine:

Blind children touching original ancient Ban Chiang pots

Pilot of touch tour in Thai for blind children: Learning about Thailand's Pre-history

Curators of the National Museum Bangkok welcomed 25 blind Thai children aged between 7-12 years from the Bangkok School for the Blind. The visitors learned about Thailand's pre-history by touching ancient pots as well as replicas of inscriptions and ceramic shards before making clay pots like those from Ban Chiang. Such sessions for the blind will now be available as part of the Museum's regular education programs.

Information & Booking: touch@museumvolunteersbkk.net