Recently, I had the pleasure of consulting with two artists who designed a multimedia installation that incorporated audio, video, and tactile elements. It was displayed at the Peale Museum in Baltimore as part of the exhibition Spark 6 In October and November of 2023.

Cathy Cook and Stefanie Koseff created a multisensory work that could be experienced through the senses of touch and hearing as well as sight. They designed with accessibility in mind because they included audio description in their videos so everyone would know what was happening. In so doing, they created a richer soundtrack, and their attention to access sparked their creativity.

The installation, called “A Tension of Care,” explored the complexities of Earth’s changing climate. They used a multisensory approach so that the piece could be experienced in a number of ways including touch objects, video integrated audio descriptions, captions, text, and tactile graphics.

The installation was comprised of three stations. The station for the porthole is pictured here.

The central pedestal, “Through an Opening,” evoked the porthole of a ship. The video and sound took on the perspective of being in a ship’s hull below the surface of the ocean. Visitors were invited to lay their hands on the porthole to feel vibrations that mimic the feeling of objects bumping against the sides of the ship.

The stations titled “Hot” and “Cold” explored the effects of extreme temperatures. There were warming pads on the surface of the “Hot” pedestal and a cooling module metal plate on the surface of the “Cold” pedestal.

The cooling module was highly effective. I had to remove my hands before the short video finished playing.

Audio description is an essential part of the soundtrack. The artists designed the videos to incorporate audio descriptions into the narration and they added ambient sounds.

“We used AI-generated voices as narrators and didn’t adhere to one voice reading one type of audio, so it was not possible to anticipate whether a voice would be describing what is on the screen or whether it was functioning as a narrator telling the story.  Many sighted viewers didn’t realize there was audio description at all, they just thought it was part of the soundtrack / narration.”

The Porthole Video is the longest of the three videos. It depicts scenes viewed through the porthole, a window below the waterline of a ship at sea. Scenes included shots of floating rafts of seaweed, various fish swimming, and a scuba diver passing by. The sound of waves was heard throughout the video.

Cathy and Stefanie created their art with accessibility in mind. It was a pleasure to offer suggestions as they designed a multisensory and accessible experience that engages the audience in the complexities of Earth’s changing climate.