Sandra:
Hello Elisa, hello everybody. We are here today to talk about the exhibition that Elisa and her team will do for the Deaf Museums project.
So first of all, I think we will introduce ourselves and then we go right ahead to learn more about your exhibition.
My name is Sandra Kral, this is my sign name. I work at equalizent, which is a training and counselling institute specialized on sign language, based in Vienna in Austria and I'm part of the Deaf Museum's project staff team.
Elisa, could you go ahead and introduce yourself?
Elisa:
Thank you and hello to everybody. My name is Elisa Bruttini, I was born in Siena, where I'm still living and working. My institution is the Fundazione Musei Sinesi,. The museum network office connecting all these cultural institutions spread through our territory, is located in Siena as well.
We are partner in the Deaf Museums project. We are trying to give our contribution concerning Museum Studies and Management
Sandra:
You will also do an exhibition for the project yourselves. So I'm wondering: what will your exhibition be about?
Elisa:
Yes of course, we are as all the other partners, trying to build up an exhibition about Deaf Heritage and a possible relationship with museum products.
Our idea is working on photography and trying to find out a common ground for reflecting, making people reflect about some links with Deaf Heritage and material Heritage exhibited in our museums.
We are setting it inside one or two of our museums, in order to involve also not deaf visitors to such projects but also we are intended to make Deaf communities participate in it.
Sandra:
That sounds very interesting. So it sounds like your exhibition will be in a physical format? What can your visitors expect?
Elisa:
We have decided, let's keep our fingers crossed about the future, to have a physical exhibition in a physical space, where people could work in and interact with. Such photographs could create a dialogue, but on a different level with objects, artefacts and artworks. We'd like to involve some important deaf photographer as the leader of the project, choosing the main team, the main subjects, some images. But also to have a call for younger deaf photographers. So creating also a dialogue between different generations and artists.
Sandra:
It sounds very interesting. As you said at the beginning, you are an expert in museums, but maybe especially for this exhibition: are there any challenges you have already faced, or that you think that will come up in the future?
Elisa:
I can say that the greatest challenge and at the same time the greatest opportunity is working with Deaf people and the Deaf Heritage since we we have no previous experience in that. Some years ago we realized an application for smartphones and other mobile devices, which had some videos interpreted in sign language, but we know it's not enough at all. So we are relying on the great experience of partners like you, and the others of the team in order to make this challenge an opportunity.
As I said, I am working with museums and inclusion is a challenge at the top. And probably we are involving the museums which are more sensible to such challenges, because working with museum professionals is another of our main objectives of the project.
Sandra:
That sounds very good. I hope that we will as a partnership manage all these challenges together, to get great results. With our exhibitions we also want to inspire other people to open themselves an exhibition about Deaf history about Deaf culture. So if you met a person who says yes I want to do it, what is the one best or most important advice you would give to them?
Elisa:
Um, working with an exhibition team where you are not so confident with, is a challenge that could be successful just if you ask for help and you involve for competencies like the ones of partners like you, working with Deaf people.
So the main key of success, I would suggest, about working with museums and exhibitions is interdisciplinarity. And a mix, a combination of competencies through professionals, but also why not equal participation process with the the other audiences.
Sandra:
Thank you for the tip. We will definitely keep it in mind for our exhibition.
So now, you already told us a lot of things. Is there anything else you would like to tell our audience at this point?
Elisa:
We are still working, it's a something in progress. So I will keep some tips for the future, of course.
Sandra:
That sounds like a great plan. Elisa, thank you very much for the interview and see you next time.
Elisa:
Thank you it has been a pleasure.