Talks

A Universal Museum - Learning through Touch in Public Spaces

Prof. Kojiro Hirose (National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka) is the foremost authority of museum accessibility in Japan. He has worked on the practical study and prevalence of “tactile exhibits,” drawing on his experience of being visually impaired. Rather than simply building a barrier-free museum for the disabled, his goal is to develop a “universal museum,” which everyone can enjoy. His study has had a significant impact both within and outside the museum, and his advocacy of a universal museum has attracted international attention; he has given lecture throughout the U.S., Germany, and other countries.  

At the National Museum of Ethnology, Professor Hirose researches Japanese history. He is interested in improving accessibility for people with disabilities, especially those that are blind and has developed a museum pamphlet in Braille as well as guided tours for both blind and sighted people that have proven very popular.  

In addition to his work for the museum, Professor Hirose lectures at both Osaka University and Hiroshima University, where he has been known to turn off the lights in his classroom so that his students focus on tactile items without sight.

Akiko Takesue is ROM’s Bishop White Committee Curator of Japanese Art & Culture. She is responsible for researching and developing ROM’s collection of Japanese art and culture, numbering approximately 10,000 objects and ranging in date from the archaeology of the Jōmon period (10,000–300 BCE) to the present day.

Dr. Takesue received her Ph.D. in Art History and Visual Culture from York University, Toronto.  She has broad curatorial experience in museums in Australia, Canada, and the U.S., from researching the Japanese collections to curating permanent galleries and special exhibitions of Japanese art. Most recently, she was a co-curator for the exhibition Obsession: Sir William Van Horne’s Japanese Ceramics, held at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) from 2018 to 2020. She is currently building and planning a vision for the new Prince Takamado Gallery of Japan at ROM.