The Deaf Resourced Provision based at Hanson has been collaborating with the National Science and Media Museum to help curate and contribute to a new ‘Sound and Vision’ gallery, opening as part of the Bradford City of Culture 2025 celebrations. Students have worked with museum staff over a series of workshops called ‘Snapshots’, in which they have learnt about the history of photography, changes to photographic technology over time, how the gallery curates its collections and designs its displays, and considered barriers that they and other Deaf young people face to access culture and knowledge such as in a museum.
In April, museum staff came to Hanson Academy to continue this work. Artist Eddy Philips created a tapestry of the day, recording the contributions of students throughout the workshop sessions. Students were challenged to do things such as justify decisions on a display they created, consider changes to briefs based on the viewpoints of others, and suggest how more Deaf young people can be engaged by the museum.
The museum staff were delighted with the contributions our students made and are gifting 2 instant cameras to the provision to support the student’s enthusiasm for photography. We have also been invited to view the gallery ahead of its official opening, so the group can see the work they contributed to and which will be on public display for 30 years.
