Cooper Hewitt Lab: Verbal Descriptions with Columbia University Digital Storytelling Lab

What language best communicates the qualities of an object? How do we form meaning from what we see, hear, and touch? Museums and institutions around the world use verbal descriptions—nonvisual language to describe the visual world—to make their collections and resources accessible to people with blindness or low vision. Short talks by accessibility experts, artists, and designers will launch a hands-on workshop in which participants will actively translate a range of museum objects into verbal descriptions. Maximize your senses as you join thought leaders from Cooper Hewitt and Columbia Digital Storytelling Lab in mapping a new understanding of how storytelling and design activate rich human responses.

SINA BAHRAM is a computer scientist, consultant, business owner, and researcher. Bahram is the Director of Prime Access Consulting (PAC), which advises on website and digital accessibility.

LANCE WEILER is a founding member and the director of the Columbia University Digital Storytelling Lab. He is recognized as a pioneer for the way he mixes storytelling and technology. Always interested in experimenting with new ways to tell stories and engage audiences, Lance has designed experiences that have reached millions of people via theaters, mobile devices, and online.

ELLEN LUPTON is Senior Curator of Contemporary Design at Cooper Hewitt. Through a series of books and exhibitions, she is researching the power of storytelling and multisensory experience in design.

Museum admission not required.