Walters Art Museum

The Walters Art Museum will support the exhibition "A Sense of Beauty: Medieval Art and the Five Senses," and related activities during a comprehensive 21-month long project designed to foster greater visitor experiences with the museum's medieval art collection. The exhibition will showcase 130 works of art focusing upon the senses created from the 12th through 16th centuries. By utilizing new interpretive strategies and technology, the museum will add a sensory dimension to the gallery, including audio spotlights, focused sound projections around certain artifacts, and scent POPS, small devices that release fragrant essences to create aromascapes of specific medieval environments. Reproduction artifacts for visitors to touch will be incorporated into the gallery, offering visitors another sensory method to experience the artwork. The project will be evaluated throughout its run, informing ongoing programming and resource allocation decisions. The museum will work with outside evaluators to produce summative evaluations including surveys, questionnaires, and timing and tracking studies. Results will guide ongoing use of interactive technologies in medieval galleries.