Research and consultation
First, we consulted with the organisers of the festival, Odonien, Unlabel and Leib&Seele Produktionen. Experts on specific accessibility issues, which they were also affected by, introduced themselves and their views on the venue and accessibility issues. These included visual and hearing impairments, physical limitations, learning difficulties and neurodivergence. Based on their presentations, different teams of designers were formed around a specific expert and their view, pain points and gain points regarding cultural venues such as Odonien and the upcoming festival. The accessibility experts provided deeper insights into participation in cultural events and the disparities they face on a daily basis. It was important to the festival’s stakeholders that the solutions fit in with the overall industrial and mechanical feel of the venue.
Our team was formed around Dodzi Dougban, European Hip Hop Dance champion, who was born deaf. In his performances he uses the vibration of the floor, technical solutions such as a vibration backpack and the sensation of sound on his skin. He described strong penetrating bass elements in music as the most useful source to feel the beat as well as the translation into visual cues to help him understand the musical context. Throughout the entire project he supported us with his knowledge of music, performance and dance.
“He doesn’t necessarily have to hear the music, but he feels the bass and mainly the rhythm,” says his brother and sign language interpreter Denis Dougban during their joint interview on Deutschlandfunk Kultur. ( In German Language )
What we learned from the group sessions was that focusing on solving a problem for only one modality can have a greater impact than trying to create a one-size-fits-all solution. In fact, it could be counterproductive to include all features at once, as a specialised solution creates more nuance. A design for hearing impaired people might not provide a good user experience for someone with a visual impairment. However, it is important to include as many and varied backgrounds and requirements as possible in the design and construction. Constraints help to emphasise a particular point of view, which might even be applicable to others.
A challenge we got confronted with was that the installations should fit the rustic, industrial identity of the Odonien venue. And for inclusion also quite important to find a good balance of installation space and the integration of people with disabilities inside the place. There were 5 main spaces to choose from. We chose the center space in front of the stage as our expert and focus was the performance on stage.
