OPENArt - a Tool Supporting Education in the Field of Culture and Art

Many museums in Poland and all over the world make use of mobile technologies. Unfortunately, neither Polish nor overseas applications offer universal solutions for users with different levels of knowledge and different disabilities. People with sight and hearing disabilities, as well as those physically handicapped, are very often culturally excluded, which means they are excluded from an important aspect of social life. As part of the project ‘OPENArt – Contemporary Art for All,’ a multimedia guide was developed in the form of an application for portable devices. It was designed in accordance with the participatory design methodology and principles of universal design. It facilitates access to works of art exposed to people with hearing and visual impairments. The application can be used to educate the blind, visually impaired, the deaf and hard of hearing, as well as people working with non-disabled children in arts and language classes. In the paper the innovative features of the guide were presented, and its educational values were characterized.