Understanding Visual Arts Experiences of Blind People

TL;DR

This study investigates how blind individuals engage with visual arts, exploring current practices, motivations, and challenges, to inform the design of more accessible visual arts experiences through technology.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights from interviews and surveys on blind people's interactions with visual arts, guiding future accessibility solutions.

Findings

Blind people use a variety of methods like audio descriptions and tactile graphics.

Motivations include social connection and personal enrichment.

Challenges involve limited access and understanding of visual artworks.

Abstract

Visual arts play an important role in cultural life and provide access to social heritage and self-enrichment, but most visual arts are inaccessible to blind people. Researchers have explored different ways to enhance blind people's access to visual arts (e.g., audio descriptions, tactile graphics). However, how blind people adopt these methods remains unknown. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 blind visual arts patrons to understand how they engage with visual artwork and the factors that influence their adoption of visual arts access methods. We further examined interview insights in a follow-up survey (N=220). We present: 1) current practices and challenges of accessing visual artwork in-person and online (e.g., Zoom tour), 2) motivation and cognition of perceiving visual arts (e.g., imagination), and 3) implications for designing visual arts access methods. Overall, our findings provide a roadmap for technology-based support for blind people's visual arts experiences.