Although arts and heritage venues are perceived as visual spaces, the introduction of technology, audio guides and video installations for example, render them inaccessible to people who are D/deaf. In their 2020-2030 strategy, the Arts Council England (ACE) detailed how the sector should encourage diverse audiences including disadvantaged communities, young people and people who are D/deaf, to improve health and wellbeing outcomes. There has been limited research conducted on accessibility and inclusion for people who are D/deaf, despite 33% of the population identifying as D/deaf. Therefore, the intention of this research was to determine if augmented reality (AR) could create and enhance experiences for people who identify as D/deafwhen visiting an arts and heritage venues.

To answer this research question a feminist epistemological approach was chosen to address potential issues regarding communication misunderstandings and exclusion from phonocentric society. This research proposed that through the advancement of feminist theory, beyond the female body, D/deaf subjugation could be reinterpreted through the interrelation between power and resistance. Feminism has been applied here as a suitable sociological investigation which confronts the interdependent systems of discrimination and disadvantage, contributing to a positive social change.  The aim of this research was to empower people who identify as D/deaf by dismantling inaccessible practices within the arts and heritage sector, by recognising their distinct perspectives, situated knowledge and gain autonomy in a predominantly aural/oral society.

To answer the research question this study was conducted in three distinct phases; phase one with individuals in a real-world setting; phase two with individuals to co-design accessible content and phase three with venues to understand the challenges in the provision of accessibility. Phase one with twenty-four participants (eight with good hearing and sixteen who identified as D/deaf), who tested the AR app (Smartify) in a real-world setting and provided feedback on their experiences of accessibility, further qualitative methods included, observation, semi-structured interviews and mobile eye-tracking (MET). The second phase of research consisted of forty participants who identified as D/deaf, they were invited to co-design content and functionality for the augmented reality app, to enable an enjoyable and accessible arts and heritage experience. The final phase was conducted with ten arts and heritage venues to understand their challenges to providing accessible experiences for people who identified as D/deaf. A proposed outcome was to develop recommendations for the arts and heritage sector, that included a set of practical applications, including the provision of BSL interpretations, plain language and adequate lighting for all available text; transcripts; and closed captions or subtitles available for all video and audio files; staff trained in D/deaf awareness and the operation of induction loops that connect to personal audiological devices. The novel application of mobile eye-tracking (MET) in phase one enabled an understanding of participants who identified as D/deaf’s visual attention, information processing and access requirements, that provided direct insight into their experiential ways of knowing in a real-world setting. The instant playback feature allowed deeper discussions in interview of their complex visual interactions. Some of the participants indicated that they were already expending extensive cognition to translate written English into meaningful signed language, and therefore additional effort was counterproductive. The deployment of MET provided insightful data regarding how textual and pictorial information was processed and the importance of the unique perspective of people who identify as D/deaf, which is crucial for addressing accessibility requirements effectively.

The insights gained from this method advanced an understanding of unique eye movement patterns and information processing was argued as an important aspect when designing content and functionality for an AR app (Smartify) with people who identified as D/deaf. A further important practical research application was the creation of a BSL video and further information regarding audio guides were uploaded to the partner venue, Watts Gallery Artists Village website and made available to the venue to upload onto the Smartify app. A contribution to knowledge, in addition to applying a feminist lens to this ethnographic study, was communication theory of identity (CTI) that enabled a valuable insight into how people who are D/deaf construct their own identify and are labelled (dis)abled by hegemonic society. Absent from the literature until now has been discourse on how society manifests and imposes an identity onto people who are D/deaf. The novel application of a proposed fifth layer of CTI enabled an understanding of how this harmful behaviour has impacted their enjoyment of arts and heritage. Further, these labels were not accepted by people who identified as culturally and linguistically Deaf, who argued these labels erode their identity and culture.