Accessibility
Margrét M. Norðdahl always knew she wanted to be an artist. Growing up in Reykjavík, a vibrant cultural centre with a multitude of galleries, only solidified her interest. Margrét studied fine arts and arts education at the Iceland University of the Arts and early in her career, she noticed how homogeneous the art scene was in the country:
“I’m vocal, I have the language, I have my network. I’m so privileged. A lot of people don’t have those opportunities. Yet, the whole system is built around people like me.”
During her work at Fjölmennt, an adult education centre for people with disabilities, Margrét realised that what we perceive as a typical class environment can also be challenging:
“For some people, the bad lighting can prevent them from hearing what you’re saying, because they are not able to concentrate.”
Accessibility is a learning curve for every teacher. When one of Margrét’s students, an adult with a high sensory sensitivity, couldn’t join the class, she realised how challenging for him was the spatial organisation of her art studio.
“We, artists, work primarily with senses, but when teaching, we sometimes forget how sensitive the senses of our students can be.”
Margrét approached her student on an individual level. After getting to know his needs and abilities, she asked a therapeutic specialist for a consultation. For this one student only, they designed a spatial orientation system, a unique map that, step by step, familiarised him with the topography of the art studio.
In order to be inclusive, we can reach out for help to all kinds of experts, because maybe we just need to change one little thing, and then we open up the whole course. Accessibility should be supported with funds, experts’ counselling, and training programs:
“The progress in education is marked by inclusion of different marginalised groups: women, people of different ethnicities and finally, people with disabilities. Sometimes we have a perspective that the student has a problem, but the problem is in how the educational system, school establishments, and courses are designed. An inclusive art world is a decision we need to make.”
URB_ART spoke to Margrét M. Norðdahl, an Icelandic artist and art teacher, who teaches at Fjölmennt (www.fjolmennt.is) – an adult education centre for people with disabilities, at Iceland University of the Arts and The Reykjavík School of Visual Arts. She is a board member of Reykjavík Arts Festival; Art Without Borders (www.listin.is), and The Icelandic Folk and Outsider Art Museum (www.safnasafnid.is), that presents work of all kinds of artists, unrelated to their education or background—an equal platform within the fine arts.
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