Flemish Sign Language & contemporary art in Koksijde: a long-awaited encounter

Although West Flanders is frequently brought to Ghent, a reverse movement is currently taking place in Koksijde. The Ten Bogaerde Arts Center, located in an oasis of tranquility where art, nature, and heritage converge, is hosting Dach, a temporary exhibition featuring works of art from the S.M.A.K. collection. To familiarize everyone with the world of contemporary art, ErfgoedApp tour in Flemish Sign Language (VGT) is offered via the ErfgoedApp . The tour has been made possible by a collaboration between the Culture & Heritage Department of Koksijde, Doof Vlaanderen - Sociaal Cultuur Werk, and the Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art S.M.A.K.

The barn of the 13th-century abbey farm Ten Bogaerde, which houses the art center, is characterized by its wooden, open roof construction. The art center's permanent exhibition consists of figurative sculptures by George Grard (1901-1984). Inspired by this roof construction, the permanent collection, and the collection of the S.M.A.K., the title'Dach'(German for 'roof') is taken from the sculpture Dach ( 1952) by Oswald Oberhuber (1931-2020), which opens the exhibition.  

Oberhuber's sculpture was created shortly after the traumatic war years, a period in which the perception of 'beauty' based on Aryan ideologies played a fateful role. The work can therefore be interpreted as a break with the definition of beauty at that time. The common thread running through the exhibition is the versatility of sculpture from the 1950s to the present day, which is shown in numerous forms in this exhibition. Where the concept of 'beauty' is too often reduced to a superficial, standardized concept, the Dach exhibition succeeds in encouraging visitors to appropriate an individual, highly personal experience of the concept.

The inclusion of VGT in such exhibitions is still too often overlooked because it is assumed that the written text of the spoken language is sufficient for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and sign language users. However, VGT is a visual-manual language with its own lexicon and grammar that are far removed from the spoken language. The VGT tour for Dach begins with an introduction and explanation given by Philippe van Cauteren, director of the S.M.A.K. and curator of the exhibition. The introduction is identical to that of a traditional guided tour, with the important addition of VGT support. In addition to this introduction, twelve works of art are included in the VGT tour.

Due to its monumental and somewhat remote location, Kunstencentrum Ten Bogaerde has to contend with telephone reception that is not always stable. But the ErfgoedApp has ErfgoedApp for that too. Once the tour has been downloaded, the VGT videos can be accessed and viewed offline. To open the video, simply enter the number indicated next to a work of art so that the app knows which work you are viewing.

The ErfgoedApp museums and heritage organizations with the technology they need to make information accessible to a wide audience. We therefore expect that many museums and heritage organizations will follow suit and offer their own tours in Flemish Sign Language.

Practical

Would you like to explore the 'Dach in VGT' tour? Download the ErfgoedApp the App Store or Google Play and visit the Ten Bogaerde Arts Center. The exhibition runs until November 14, 2021, and is fully wheelchair accessible.