Images, Words, and Imagination: Accessible Descriptions to Support Blind and Low Vision Art Exploration and Engagement

• Published in: Journal of imaging Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 26
• Main Authors: Doore, Stacy A, Istrati, David, Xu, Chenchang, Qiu, Yixuan, Sarrazin, Anais, Giudice, Nicholas A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-01-2024
• Subjects: Access for the disabled; Accessibility; Art appreciation; Art galleries & museums; Art works; assistive technologies; Audiences; Automation; Blind, Apparatus for the; Collaboration; Datasets; Deep learning; Description (Rhetoric); Descriptions; image captioning; Language; Methods; Museum exhibits; Museums; Neural networks; Semantics; Social aspects; Spatial data; Technology application; Vision; Visually disabled persons; United States; assistive technologies; image captioning; accessibility
• ISSN: 2313-433X; 2313-433X
• DOI: 10.3390/jimaging10010026

The lack of accessible information conveyed by descriptions of art images presents significant barriers for people with blindness and low vision (BLV) to engage with visual artwork. Most museums are not able to easily provide accessible image descriptions for BLV visitors to build a mental representation of artwork due to vastness of collections, limitations of curator training, and current measures for what constitutes effective automated captions. This paper reports on the results of two studies investigating the types of information that should be included to provide high-quality accessible artwork descriptions based on input from BLV description evaluators. We report on: (1) a qualitative study asking BLV participants for their preferences for layered description characteristics; and (2) an evaluation of several current models for image captioning as applied to an artwork image dataset. We then provide recommendations for researchers working on accessible image captioning and museum engagement applications through a focus on spatial information access strategies.