Design and Disability V&A Dundee
Updated: Oct 24
It was purely by accident that I decided to go to the Design and Disability exhibition at the V&A on the first day of Disability Pride Month, but also rather fitting.
For those who are unaware, my list of medical issues is about as long as my arm, but the ones that impact my life the most on a daily basis are my visual impairment and the chronic pain and fatigue caused by fibromyalgia. I very much enjoy seeing some disabled representation, so of course I was going to check out this exhibition. The V&A describes it as "Showcasing the radical contributions of Disabled, Deaf, and neurodivergent people to contemporary design and culture" on their website, and right off the bat, something struck me as slightly odd. Why are they listing Deaf people separately from other disabled people? It's just a bit of an odd choice in my opinion, but that's not what we are here to talk about.
I am very used to the issues museums and galleries have when it comes to accessibility for visually impaired people. By nature, they tend to have dim lighting to protect the art and artefacts on display, and object labels are typically small print. I'm not going to judge the V&A on any of that; instead, I am going to focus solely on the accessibility, or lack thereof, for visually impaired people in an exhibition that should be accessible for everyone. I will also have a bit of a yap about the exhibition itself.
Accessibility
I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had several copies of a large-print exhibition guide. (see right). These were split into several guides, one for each section of the exhibition. This made them very light to carry, a nice touch as large-print versions of things can get bulky very quickly. Each page had a number in the top corner, and a corresponding number was on each of the object labels. Here's the issue with that: the numbers on the labels were tiny. I didn't see them at first. The contrast of them was also terrible. A black eye symbol and number on a pink, purple, or blue background. (see below)
In my opinion, these should have been larger and black on yellow. Most visually impaired people are taught to look out for black on yellow. Hospital signs for ophthalmology units are often black on yellow, publications for visually impaired people are often black on yellow, why? Because it stands out and it's easy to read. I assume this wasn't done because it would have ruined the nice blue, purple, and pink aesthetic of the exhibition, and honestly, that made me so angry. I am lucky I had my partner with me, as he could read them. Another option that a friend of mine suggested was a QR code that would provide an audio version of the cards. Bonus points if it was voiced by a disabled voice actor.
This left me feeling two different things. One, that my accessibility aids are ugly, and two, I felt incredibly unseen in an exhibition that was alla bout people like me.
There are a few places to sit for those who need to rest, and there is plenty of space for those who use walking aids or wheelchairs. As I'm not a wheelchair user and don't always need my walking stick, I'll not comment further on that.
The Display
There was a nice variety of pieces on display. I think my favourite was the subwoofer vest for deaf ravers, that is such a neat idea! I also enjoyed the inclusion of art that I could appreciate. My favourite was "Cutting Shapes" by Helen Tulloch. Art is something I am only recently learning to appreciate. I can't see the details in what most people would consider classical art, but I love bold colours and shapes, so "Cutting Shapes" is my ideal piece of art.
There was also a t-shirt that spoke to my nerdy heart, which read "To boldly go where all others have gone before," (and I only know that because my partner read it to me).
I was hoping to get so much more out of the exhibition. I had hoped to be able to read the labels or have an accessible version of them that was actually accessible. Instead, I was met with a half-hearted attempt that felt more like an insult. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to see disabled people being represented, and I genuinely don't have a bad word to say about the exhibition itself. It's just the accessibility for visually impaired people was... meh.
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