The layers of the city in tactile photographs: digging up memories in an exhibition experience

Abstract

This work is about the process of accessibility of photographs in an exhibition about the life and memory of women in the city. In this proposal, we discuss how we can not only rethink the city through personal photographic collections, but also reflect on how the narratives of visually impaired people constitute a possible inclusion tool within memory devices. We believe to become a city more social inclusive also means democratizing the meanings of cultural memory in western civilization Assmann (2011). In each city has several storytellers, knowledges and symptoms (Didi-Huberman, 2012). Even walking through the city is a visible experience of enunciation on Ingold (2015), Certeau´s (2019) theoretical reflections. The extension work was created for three filds of expertise: in the Social Sciences, Architecture and Applied Linguistics. It included meetings to read the tactile pieces with a visually impaired person as a consultant, a Museum employee and an interview with a visually impaired person who visited the exhibition. For each layer touched, a new city appears and all ability to imagine the universe of narratives.

Keywords:  Accessibility. Urban Problems. Personal Narratives. Photography.