AGSA Launches Audio Guide Making Its Collection Accessible To All

The Art Gallery of South Australia today launches an Accessible Audio Guide, developed for Deaf, hard of hearing, blind and vision-impaired audiences. The Accessible Audio Guide gives these audiences the opportunity to watch Auslan videos, read transcripts and listen to audio-descriptions of works of art.

The Guide builds on AGSA's ever-growing Access Programs, which include Auslan-interpreted lunchtime talks, tours and openings, and interactive sessions for students from the South Australian School for the Vision Impaired.

Designed for in-Gallery use, the Accessible Audio Guide is also available online for audiences to access from home, ensuring that anyone, including families and friends who may have different needs, can have an enjoyable social experiences together.

Education Support Officer and Auslan interpreter at AGSA, Karina Morgan, says, 'Our initial goal was to create a social experience so that a range of diverse families and friends could enjoy the visiting the Gallery together, to allow people who are Deaf, hard of hearing, blind or vision impaired to have the same access to information.'

'The Guide also offers a way for remote communities, or people who may not be able to visit in person, to connect with us. Now, with the Gallery's closure, the Guide gives everyone the opportunity to continue to engage with our collection in a meaningful way,' Morgan adds.

Made possible with support from the South Australian Government through the Richard Llewellyn Deaf and Disability Arts program, the Guide has launched with commentaries on thirteen works of art on display in the Elder Wing of Australian Art, with the intention to grow commentaries over time.

Community consultation was integral to delivering a guide that meets users' needs. The Guide's Auslan videos are presented by members of South Australian's Deaf community, including emerging artist William Maggs, who was awarded the top prize for his self-portrait in the Transforming Techniques student exhibition at AGSA in 2019.