Museum Communication, Accessibility, and Technology: The TICHO Project

The aim of this paper is to present the TICHO project, which has been developed at Ca' Foscari University of Venice in collaboration with the Palladio Museum in Vicenza. By adopting a broad definition of ‘differently abled’ visitors – which includes linguistic, cultural and sensory barriers – the project aims to improve museum accessible communication. First, accessibility is discussed in reference to linguistic, cultural and sensory barriers. Then, phase 2 of the project is described. Phase 2 involved focus groups conducted at the Palladio Museum to collect the participants’ suggestions for an interactive mobile app. Key findings show a demand for personalisation and autonomy in museum visits, the need for comprehensive audio descriptions and tactile aids for visually impaired visitors, of texts in Italian Sign Language for visitors with hearing impairments, and culturally sensitive communication for non-Italian speakers.