Beyond the Visual: Multisensory Modes of Beholding Art

Beyond the Visual broadens the discussion of multisensory ways of beholding contemporary art, with a particular emphasis on modes that transcend a dependency upon sight. A central premise is that a shift in the aesthetic engagement afforded by hybrid forms of contemporary art has the potential to open up new sensory and cognitive engagements for blind and partially blind people. This is a subject that has rarely been addressed within the literature on contemporary arts or disability studies.

Bringing together leading international scholars and artists in the emerging field of ‘blindness arts’, including blind and partially blind artists, curators, advocates for inclusive practices and models of audio description, cognitive psychologists, and theorists of installation, performance and sound art, the book offers a detailed consideration of exemplars of such multisensory engagement, pre-eminently in works by blind or partially blind artists. In so doing, the book not only shifts the discussion on access and inclusivity – reconceiving access as integral to the creative process – but argues that this has the potential to enrich the experience of art for all beholders, moving beyond an often-unexamined reliance on vision.

Beyond the Visual is a 3-year groundbreaking research project. It is a collaboration between Chelsea College of Arts, the Henry Moore Institute and Shape Arts – the UK’s leading disability-led arts organisation.

The project is dedicated to challenging the dominance of sight in the making and appreciation of contemporary sculpture. It is transforming how museums and galleries engage blind and partially blind visitors. The project involves public participation in various activities including a research season, conference and series of exhibition-related events.

In November 2025, the research culminates with the UK’s first major sculpture exhibition where blind and partially blind practitioners are central to the curatorial process. They also make up the majority of the exhibiters. The exhibition challenges conventional curatorial practice by encouraging visitors to actively engage with all the works, such as through touch, sound or vibration.

• Organisation
• https://henry-moore.org/beyond-the-visua...