Research project P4S/251/SENSES (Research action P4S)
This project investigates how art museums can enhance inclusive visitor engagement through multisensory tools. Traditionally shaped by visual dominance, curatorial practice is here re-evaluated to explore how digital reproduction methods may broaden access and foreground materiality in art experience.
The central question is: How can art museums employ multisensory tools to augment diverse visitors’ experience of, and engagement with, the material and creative qualities of three-dimensional art? New technologies such as 3D scanning and printing, typically used for documentation and conservation purposes, are reimagined as interpretative and educational tools that activate sensory responses in diverse audiences.
The project is grounded in interdisciplinary debates in museum and heritage studies, curatorial practice and sensory anthropology. Using the recently introduced concept of 'Sensory Gain', it explores how multisensory approaches generate value beyond accessibility, benefitting all visitors. Despite growing interest, there remains a gap in empirical research on tactile replicas, the perceived materiality of reproductions and the influence of display context on interpretation and engagement.
Employing a comparative case study approach centered on the Constantin Meunier Museum, a satellite of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (RMFAB), the project investigates audience engagement with historical sculptures and plaster molds. The contrast between the house-museum setting and RMFAB’s galleries allows for an analysis of how different environments influence visitor perception and interaction.
The interdisciplinary methodology integrates art historical analysis, technical replication, co-creative curatorial experimentation and ethnographic visitor research (e.g. pre-visit surveys, observation, interviews, focus groups).
This project contributes to discourses on inclusion, materiality and multisensory interpretation in museums. It examines how reproduction technologies can enhance – not replace – art experiences and deepen engagement. By centering visitor perspectives and testing display interventions, the project aims to produce best practices for museums seeking to expand access through inclusive, sensory-rich strategies.
