Due to the lack of art, technology, science, and nature terms in Turkish Sign Language, the “Sign Language Museum Dictionary Project” was initiated to improve access to museums for people with hearing impairments. The project was first implemented at the Ankara Painting and Sculpture Museum, where the texts of 50 artworks were translated into sign language.
DUE to the absence of art, technology, science, and nature terms in Turkish Sign Language, the 3.5 million deaf and hearing-impaired people in Turkey do not have full access to museums. To address this issue, Bongo Art Project and Hadi İşaret teamed up in 2022 to launch the “Sign Language Museum Dictionary Project.” The first area of work was the selection of 50 artworks from the Republic period at the Ankara Painting and Sculpture Museum. A total of 230 sign language terms needed for the interpretation of these works were identified. Through an academic study, four sign language editors, two deaf artists, two sign language interpreters, and two art historians worked together to complete the creation of a sign language art dictionary. Following this, the 50 selected artworks were translated into sign language. A second barcode was added next to the explanatory texts of these works, allowing access to information about the artworks in sign language as well. The team plans to expand accessibility by covering all art museums in Turkey in future stages of the project. Their primary goal is to broaden the museum art dictionary to include works from various art branches and eventually make all art museums fully accessible.
‘WE EXPECT A DOMINO EFFECT’
Sibel Şengün, the founder of Hadi İşaret, stated that their initial goal is to reach 10,000 deaf and hearing-impaired individuals. She expressed the hope that the Ankara Painting and Sculpture Museum will create a domino effect and that other museums will adopt an inclusive approach to ensure accessibility for deaf and hearing-impaired people. She added, “We continue our process by expanding the scope of our ‘Sign Language Museum Dictionary Project’ to make thematic museums such as those focused on science, nature, technology, history, archaeology, industry, and health more accessible. Our videos published throughout the process have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.”
ACCESS TO MUSEUMS IS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT
Çiğdem Aslantaş, the founder of Bongo Art Project, emphasized that access to museums is a fundamental right and stated, “Despite this, most museums in Turkey and around the world are designed without considering accessibility. This prevents people with disabilities, and even those without, from fully benefiting from museums. Deaf and hearing-impaired individuals who cannot access the geography, history, science, and art around them due to these barriers are unable to connect with their roots and heritage. Turkish Sign Language consists of only 2,000 words, making it challenging to specialize in thematic fields like art, technology, science, history, and nature. That’s why we launched the ‘Sign Language Museum Dictionaries’ project.”
