May 9, 2018 - 19:13
Monday's CCW exhibition opening was a much bigger occasion than I thought - I don't know why, but somehow I did not expect that many people to be there! Seeing the Bryn Mawr and Haverford communites (whether students, faculty, or families) come together for this array of the CCW artists' work was truly amazing. There was so much excitement and interest in everyone's voices, as well as in the artists' as they described their work. I really enjoyed every minute!
While our exhibit was nowhere near on as grand a scale as what one would find in the Met, Smithsonian, or MoMA galleries, I can definitely say that it was exciting to witness this exhibit that was, to the fullest extent, built with accessibility in mind. From audio descriptions to good lighting, to multimedia presentations of the works, to standing/seated height considerations, to physical space, to large print text and readable fonts, I really felt that it was as all-inclusive of a gallery as we could have made it. (Given our time, space, and resource constraints, that is.) I overheard a few of the artists talking happily with the CCW staff, as well as college faculty, about some of these features. I was really pleased that we had spent so much effort on exhausting each of these options, for maximum accessibility, because not only did they create a baseline of access for everyone involved, but made the exhibtion experience more varied and exciting overall! I know other students at Bryn Mawr who are very excited to visit the exhibit still, and hopefully they will observe the full range of accessibility options as well, as they bask in the artworks.