Final event of the EU project on culture for all senses
2025-09-09
Text + Film
Researchers at the University of Borås, together with international partners, have developed new technical solutions and artistic methods that open up more senses for culture. The results of the last four years of work were shown at the symposium Beyond Boundaries – Multisensory Innovations for Inclusive Futures, which brought together researchers, cultural heritage institutions, artists, and user organisations for two days at the University of Borås and at the Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg.
Demonstrations and tried technologies
The programme included presentations of the project’s results, including the MuseIT WebUI platform, new forms of tactile narratives, and tools for music generation based on bodily signals. Participants also took part in demonstrations and tried technologies such as HaptiVerse, MuseMeUp, and digital heritage exhibitions.
Several internationally acclaimed voices participated with informative and inspiring talks, including Riitta Lahtinen and Russ Palmer, pioneers in Social-Haptic Communication and vibroacoustic therapy; Femke Krijger, an internationally recognised speaker and researcher on bodily awareness and perceptual diversity; Sara Rundqvist and Stefan Eklund, accessibility specialists working on sensory and communicative inclusion in cultural spaces; and artists Anny Wang and Tim Söderström, known for their immersive and playful design work, Micce Rylander, an artist exploring tactile visual art and sensory storytelling, and Josefin Vargö, a food artist working with taste, time, and transformation.
Visionary voices
The visionary policy roundtable session, including Marie-Véronique Leroi, Niels Righolt, Emil Erdtman, and Dino Angelaccio, brought together leading voices in accessibility, digital heritage, cultural democracy, and inclusive design, offering valuable insights on how to sustain and expand the project’s impact beyond its conclusion.
One of the keynote speakers, Femke Krijger, who brings together lived experience of deafblindness and professional expertise across multiple fields, shared a powerful reflection:
“It isn't just about technology reaching out to people with different abilities to enable and empower us, it is also about us reaching out to these new ways of expression and communication.”
The importance of inclusive design was also highlighted by the project team:
“MuseIT has shown that accessibility is not a technical fringe topic, but a part of cultural work itself. Through multisensory innovations, we can create experiences that include more people.”
Research and technology break down barriers
Although unable to attend the symposium due to illness, keynote speaker Klas Nelfelt, President of the Swedish Association of the Deafblind, shared the following reflection:
“MuseIT demonstrates what a more inclusive cultural life can look like – one where even individuals with deafblindness are given the opportunity to experience art and culture on their own terms. It is crucial that research and technology are used to break down barriers rather than build them. I hope the project's results will be an eye-opener for more stakeholders to consider accessibility from the very beginning.”
"MuseIT shows what a more inclusive cultural life can look like – where even people with deafblindness are given the opportunity to experience art and culture on their own terms. It is crucial that research and technology are used to break down barriers rather than build them. I hope the project's results will be an eye-opener for more actors to consider accessibility from the very beginning."
“For us, accessibility has never been just about compliance or technology, it’s about rethinking how we design cultural experiences so that more people can genuinely take part. That’s what MuseIT set out to explore.” concluded Nasrine Olson, project coordinator and associate professor at the University of Borås.
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The project has been funded by the EU research programme Horizon 2020 and has involved partners from several European countries. The final symposium marked not only the final phase of the project, but also the beginning of new collaborations on culture, technology, and inclusion. MuseIT ends at the end of the year.
The project has been coordinated by the University of Borås and has been implemented in collaboration with CataLink Limited (CTL) [CY], Information Technologies Institute, Centre for Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH) [GR], EXUS Software Monoprosopi Etairia Periorismenis Evthinis (EXUS) [GR], ShareMusic & Performing Arts (SHMU) [SE],Michael Culture Association (MCA) [BE], Actronika SAS (ACTRO) [FR], Ministero Della Cultura (MIC) [IT], Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen/ Ddept, DANCE (KNAW-DANS) [NL], Stanford University (SU) [US], King's College London (KCL) [UK], and X-System (XSL) [UK]
MuseIT at the University of Borås
Participating in the symposium from the University of Borås:
Nasrine Olson, Project Coordinator
Sofia Lindström Sol, Associate Professor
Renata Sadula, Project Manager
Jonas Jarvoll, external Technical Developer
Thomas v Erven, external Technical Developer
Solveig Klug / Lina Färm
Erik Norving