Fluid Spaces: Art, Access & Autonomy

If you are under 18 or not a student or staff member of GSA please let us know ahead of time by emailing: [email protected]
Please feel free to turn up in your own time between 2 and 6 pm. You will be greeted at the entrance and shown through to the exhibition. You will then be ushered into our reception space for some light refreshments, where you can stay and chat at your leisure (until 6ish). We will be aiming to stagger your viewing of the exhibition so there is only about one or two of you in each space at any one time; you will have around 5 minutes for viewing.
For members of GSA and staff, this exhibition will remain open until the 21st, so you will have the chance to pop by and view at a more leisurely space if you so desire.
Please consider others and stay home if you are not feeling well or COVID-19 positive and wear a mask indoors if you have recently been or suspect you were sick in any way.

We have done our best to consider accessibility in this exhibition but please do get in contact if you have any accessibility requirements that we need to be aware of to accommodate your visit: Email, [email protected]

About the exhibition: Our exhibition highlights the work of Sarah Messenger, an artist whose creations navigate the thresholds of liminal spaces, where the familiar blends with the unknown. With Messenger’s work, we aim to spark dialogue on how gallery design and accessibility can evolve to better serve the experiencing of artworks for everyone particularly centring the experience of neurodivergent individuals and people with disabilities.

What is the central idea/proposition? 

The exhibition’s central idea is to examine how accessibility, comfort, and environmental factors shape an audience's engagement with art and to encourage visitors to envision a more inclusive future for art spaces. It uses three distinct rooms to represent different approaches to art display, prompting the audience to consider how the design of a space influences their perception and interaction with artwork.

Room One serves as a traditional “white cube” gallery, presenting a single painting with minimal information: a small label displaying only the artwork’s title and the artist’s name. This space embodies the exclusivity often associated with conventional galleries, where the lack of context and limited interaction can make art feel inaccessible or distant. The purpose of Room One is to set a baseline for comparison, highlighting the traditional display methods that can feel limiting or exclusive.

Room Two introduces more accessible design elements, reflecting contemporary efforts to make galleries more inclusive. In this room, there are larger font labels for better readability, a printed handout offering context for the artwork in both English and Mandarin, and a video with captions in which the artist discusses her work, accompanied by headphones. Room Two illustrates the practical changes that can make art more accessible, inviting visitors to consider how these modifications enhance their understanding and comfort within the space.

Room Three shifts from display to dialogue, offering a reflective environment where visitors are encouraged to imagine and contribute ideas for creating more inclusive art spaces. Here, prompts ask visitors to share thoughts, ideas, and suggestions, which gradually transform the room into a collective art piece embodying diverse perspectives on accessible curation. An adjoining kitchen extends this dialogue, fostering a communal space to discuss these themes further. The purpose of Room Three is to invite active participation, allowing the exhibition to evolve with audience input and symbolise a vision of accessible, community-driven curation.

What do you seek to achieve?

The exhibition seeks to foster a deeper understanding of how accessibility and space design influence how audiences experience and connect with art. By guiding visitors through different environments, each with varying levels of comfort and accessibility, the exhibition aims to highlight the subtle but significant impact of inclusive design on one's relationship with art.

We want to encourage visitors to observe and actively participate in reimagining the possibilities for more inclusive art spaces. Through the final room's interactive component, we invite audiences to share their insights, helping to build a collective vision that reflects diverse perspectives on accessibility. The feedback we receive will also be compiled into a research resource, allowing us to analyse audience responses and understand the broader needs and preferences that can shape future gallery designs and accessibility improvements. The feedback loop will also be closed by sending out a debriefing email sharing some of our top insights with the participants. 

Ultimately, our goal is to spark an ongoing conversation about inclusivity in the art world, inspiring visitors to consider and advocate for accessible practices that welcome and engage everyone. By creating spaces that adapt to different needs, we hope to demonstrate that art experiences can enrich and be accessible to all, inspiring a movement toward more thoughtful, inclusive gallery and museum environments.

Host or Publisher GSA + UOG CPCA Postgrad Students Project