Presenting work

Technical guidelines

Much of planning an exhibition comes down to what fits where. This is a good moment to take a pause and consider how you can think about accessibility as a factor in these decisions. 

There are some guidelines that offer practical steer.

• If you're hanging work on the wall - this might be a 2D painting in a frame or a sculpture composed of multiple parts - aim to position it so that the centre of the artwork is 135cm off of the floor. 
  
  
• In a similar way, you might be constructing plinths to display artwork. If you have control over the size of plinths you're using, try to make them no taller than 80cm. Of course, you might only have ready-made plinths available. We'd always recommend choosing the plinths - or any free-standing platform for showing work, like tables or stools - that are as close to 80cm in height as possible. The only time you should opt for a shorter platform is if the work itself is very tall.
  
  
• If you're accompanying an artwork on the wall with a label - this might tell people who made it, what it's called, or what it's made from - we suggest hanging or sticking these at 110cm from the floor. 
  
  
• As important as it is to hang artwork at an accessible height, you've also got to consider the layout of the room or space you're exhibiting within. If you've got floor work and furniture like benches or chairs, you need to plan carefully to make sure there's enough room for people to move about the space, particularly wheelchair users. With this in mind, you should factor in 1.3m between objects on the floor to make sure people can comfortably navigate the exhibition without putting themselves or the artworks at risk.

Audio description

Offering the audience audio descriptions of your artwork can be a great tool for making the exhibition more accessible for visually impaired audiences. But you'll also find that audio description is a popular method of engagement for a much wider audience, too. It can make people think about elements or themes within an artwork that they might have missed otherwise. 

There's lots of great advice for how to write audio descriptions. We'd recommend Turf Project's Audio Description Tips for Artists resource. It's always worth road-testing your descriptions with others - particularly visually impaired people who can help you improve. We would always advise paying people for their time if you ask them to consult on improving accessibility. 

Another way you can use audio description to increase the accessibility of your exhibition is to offer tracks that describe the environment or exhibition layout as well as the works themselves. We did this for Abi Palmer's Slime Mother exhibition in 2024, check it out to get a feel for what you could do yourself.

Once you've got your audio descriptions recorded, here's what we recommend:

• Compile your audio description tracks and upload them somewhere publicly accessible, like SoundCloud.
  
  
  • This will allow you to structure the 'playlist' or 'album' in an order that makes sense: consider the sequence that people would encounter the works in the space, and follow that. 
    
    
  • It will also mean you can integrate any additional descriptions, such as describing the room that houses the exhibition, or a reading of your curatorial text.
    
    
• Plan and test the ways your audience can access the audio description.
  
  
  • We would recommend having some basic MP3 players and headphones pre-loaded with your audio description tracks available for people on-site.
    
    
  • Many people would prefer to use their own smartphone and headphones, or the ones you have available might be busy. To account for this, we recommend adding QR codes to your wall labels - you should clearly label them as linked to your audio description - allowing people to navigate there themselves. 
    
    
  • If people can't make it to the exhibition in person, consider making the audio descriptions available online for anyone to listen to. 

British Sign Language

Over 150,000 people in the UK use British Sign Language (BSL). BSL is a different language to English, with a different structure. For many deaf people, BSL is their first language. This means that sometimes, captions and text might not be sufficient if you're aiming to make your exhibition accessible to everyone. 

We suggest providing BSL interpretation wherever you have text or spoken English play a significant role in your exhibition. This might include:

• A BSL translation of your curatorial or wall texts, as well as BSL catalogue
  
  
• Providing a BSL version of moving image works that contain spoken dialogue. If you're commissioning new moving image work, you might even consider integrating this into the artwork itself. 
  
  
• Hiring BSL interpreters for your events and programmes. If you have an opening event or a panel discussion alongside your exhibition, we'd suggest finding a BSL interpreter so BSL users can enjoy what you're offering. 

We know that BSL interpretation can be expensive. It's also hard to secure interpreters at the last minute. It's always important to plan for time and budget to cater for this. If you're still writing a funding application, for example, make sure you include BSL provision within your budget. 

If you've got an interpreter and they're recording videos for the exhibition, the next step is figuring out the best way for audiences to find and engage with this material.

• With pre-recorded BSL, this might be in-vision, where the interpreter is green-screened into another video, or a stand-alone video that accompanies a piece of text, we use YouTube to host and organise content. You can create playlists that mirror the order of artworks in the exhibition, for example, offering a kind of BSL tour of the show. 
  
  
• Where you have BSL translations of texts about the artworks, you might consider using QR codes on your wall labels. Make sure you clearly signal what the code is for, perhaps with a BSL icon. This will allow people to use their own smartphones or devices to access the material. 

You can also organise in-person BSL tours of your exhibition. This is where you invite BSL users to join a BSL interpreter as they walk them through the exhibition, discussing each artwork. 

Digital content and moving image work

Captions:

• One of the easiest things you can do to make video material more accessible is use captions. We would always recommend writing the captions yourself over using an automated or AI generated service, because these tend to be inaccurate. At the very least, you should thoroughly check auto-generated captions for any obvious mistakes.
  
  
• We would suggest that the captions are burnt-in to the 'main' version of your artwork or video content, particularly if you're playing it on a TV or projector within the space. This means everyone has the same experience and nobody needs to request captions be turned on. 
  
  
• If you're interested in writing creative captions or growing your confidence for captioning non-spoken audio, like sound effects or ambient music, check out the work of organisations like Carefuffle, who specialise in this field.

Audio descriptions:

• Audio describing moving image artwork can feel daunting. Particularly if the film is long or fast-paced. As a starting point, you can browse our Audio Described Films playlist on YouTube to listen to how we've done it ourselves in the past.
  
  
• The best way to provide an audio described film is to have the descriptions playing alongside the film's own audio - two tracks, playing simultaneously, without overlapping spoken dialogue. This might not always be possible, though, particularly if the film has rapid conversations and not enough time to fit in descriptions.

Texts and writing

Interpretation is a key part of any exhibition. From the curatorial text to how you describe the artworks, communicating the themes and ideas behind your show is an important step towards creating a meaningful experience for your audience. It is also an area where a little extra time and consideration can go a long way in improving accessibility.

If you keep reading, you'll find advice about things like fonts, sizes, and graphic design in the Communications and Marketing segment of this resource. Here, we'll discuss how to make the content of your written interpretation accessible.

Reading Levels:

• The tone and language you use to describe your exhibition and the artworks is important. We'd advise aiming for a Reading Level of 8 on the Flesch-Kincaid Scale, which is the average reading age of a 13 year old. 
  
  
  • You can check this in Microsoft Word by enabling the Readability Statistics, or you can copy and paste your text into one of many free online reading level checkers.
    
    
  • Writing in plain, easily understandable language makes what you're trying to say much more accessible to a wide pool of people, whether they identify as disabled or not. It also strengthens the curation of your exhibition, because you will gain confidence and insight by distilling your ideas. 
    
    

Glossaries:

• Sometimes, particularly if you are working with conceptual art or artworks informed by science, for example, there will be phrases or words that you can't simplify as easily. Or you might need to include complex ideas or language because they are important to the artwork. When this is the case, we recommend offering a glossary, or list of definitions, so that people can engage more easily with the big ideas you feel are important.
  
  

Easy Reads:

• No matter how understandable your writing is, it's always worth providing an Easy Read format as well. Easy Reads are designed for learning disabled people and those who have difficulty understanding standard information. They can also be useful to help young children understand your exhibition. 
  
  
  • Easy Read guides use short sentences and images, usually in as a PDF. 
    
    
  • If checking with the Flesch-Kincaid scale, Easy Read material should score no higher than level 3.
    
    
  • It's best practice to use photographic images in place of graphic illustrations or cartoons. However, you should always check the copyright of photos you plan to use for your work.
    
    
  • If possible, run your Easy Ready information by a learning disabled person, to see how effective it is. We would always encourage you to pay disabled people when you employ them as accessibility consultants.
    
    
• Similar to an Easy Read guide, you might consider writing a Social Story for your exhibition or events programme. Social stories look similar to Easy Reads, but they provide more information, such as how long an event might last, how somebody might travel to the venue, and who the people involved in the project are. 
   
  • Check out Oily Cart's Social Story for When the World Turns for an idea of what you could do.

Tactile and sensory engagement

Tactile artwork and models:

• Offering tactile or sensory methods of interacting with or understanding your exhibition can make it more accessible to lots of people, particularly if they are visually impaired or blind.
  
  
• This might mean exhibiting art that are designed to be touched, or work that involves the other senses, like smell or taste. It is worth remembering however that strong scents can be an access barrier to some neurodivergent people, so if smell is an important part of your offering, make sure you inform people in advance.
  
  
• Consider creating additional tactile models where people are not allowed to touch the original. This can be a professionally made replica or you could DIY it, particularly if the artwork uses textures or materials that are easily sourced.
  
  
• Think about ways to allow people to physically feel the texture and composition of an artwork. If it is a painting, you could provide a small sample that replicates the textures of the work. 

Tactile wayfinding:

Guiding people around your exhibition - whether it's between artworks, or to find facilities like the bathroom - is an important consideration in the planning process. 

Signage is useful for telling people where things are or what to expect, but to really improve the accessibility of your wayfinding, we recommend installing tactile floor surfaces or guides to help people navigate.

• Tactile strips can be laid on the floor to create a pathway to follow or they can surround floor-based works and sculptures on plinths to tell people who can't see the object that they need to take care.
  
  
• You might even consider integrating tactile wayfinding as part of your exhibition design.

Content warnings

Trigger warnings or content notes tell people what they can expect to find in an artwork or in a space.

Common uses for them include:

• Warning for flashing lights or images
  
  
  • You should use a warning if an artwork or installation contains flashing images or lights. Ideally, you would plan a way for people to avoid them - either by showing the work in a space they can pass-by, or by allowing visitors to press play on a video rather than having it playing on a loop.
    
    
  • Try to present artworks that contain three flashes or below per second, as this is widely considered within safe limits. Always include a warning if the rate is faster.
    
    
• Sensitive content or adult themes should be flagged to visitors before they engage with an artwork. 
  
  
  • If a moving image work or film contains material or ideas people may find distressing, include a content warning at the start of the film.
    
    
  • If you are playing sensitive material on a loop, consider how you might warn people before they enter the space. If the warning is only at the start of the film, there is a risk that people will miss it if they enter part way through.
    
    
  • If you are dealing with sensitive material and want to be prepared for visitors in distress, think about the resources and training you might need in place. A quiet space for people to feel calm can be useful, as can having information to hand should they need to find support you can't offer.