Creatively Accessible:

Abstract

This thesis seeks to examine the role of the curator in providing greater access to virtual artistic spaces for disabled people and artists, focusing particularly on the vital integration of creative accessibility into contemporary curatorial practices, and for greater emphasis on disability awareness at the intersections of art and technology to reduce barriers to digital inclusion. Under discussion will be the potential to create welcoming and accessible artistic spaces if given the proper attention and structures to allow access to all visitors, as well as the limiting design and biases of digital technologies and virtual environments which may actively exclude viewers. Using the lens of digital sociology, attention will be paid to the ways in which digital inclusion influences aspects of community, individuality, creativity, and independence, particularly for those with disabilities.

Analysis of both successful and lacking curatorial disability accommodation within physical gallery and museum spaces will be considered in the discussion to bring understanding to the past and evolving states of accessibility in more traditional art spaces. Utilizing this history as a precursor to how curation and discourses around digital accessibility are being structured, it will become possible to further investigate and evaluate specific exclusionary practices and hurdles, as well as to identify areas in which those with disabilities are still not being considered and included in the organization and design of contemporary art spaces both on and offline. Ultimately, the goal of this thesis is to emphasize the necessity of standards for accessible digital curation across platforms as a means to allowing for maximum audience access, and to elevate and enhance the experience and connection to virtual art and environments.