The Double Meaning program was created in 2015 to make the Peggy Guggenheim Collection’s artistic heritage accessible to blind, partially sighted, and sighted visitors, through inclusive tours that provide tactile explorations of its works of art.
Double Meaning: In Your Hands
The museum provides a free kit that contains tactile reproductions of various works of art, accompanied by descriptive sheets, written in Braille and high-legibility characters, in English and Italian.
The works which are currently on view with tactile reproductions are Surface 236 (1957), by Giuseppe Capogrossi; Upward (1929), by Vasily Kandinsky; Men in the City (1919), by Fernand Léger; and Voice of Space (1931), by René Magritte. Following an evaluation of their state of conservation and tactile legibility, visitors can also request a tactile exploration of two sculptures by Max Ernst and Alberto Giacometti.
Thanks to these materials and the tactile reproductions in the exhibition galleries, blind and partially sighted visitors can visit the museum in complete autonomy.
The kits are available for free at the museum's ticket desk.
We recommend listening to the descriptive texts of the works of view before visiting the museum.
For more information:
doppiosenso@guggenheim-venice.it
+39 041 2405430
+39 041 2405401
Double Meaning: Tactile Tours at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection Events
From October through May, blind, partially sighted, and sighted visitors can take part in monthly Double Meaning events which explore a selection of paintings and sculptures in the collection through thermoform and resin reproductions hand-molded by the Center for Educational Material at the Istituto dei Ciechi di Milano.
The tactile tours are led by Valeria Bottalico, an expert in museum accessibility who designed and organized the program. Participants explore a selection of works of art that are part of the museum's permanent collection or are on view as part of temporary exhibitions.
Following the tour, a workshop led by blind artist Felice Tagliaferri helps participants reinforce a mental image of the works they have experienced.
The events for adults and children take place at the museum once a month, from October through May. Participation is free, but places are limited.
For more information and booking:
doppiosenso@guggenheim-venice.it
+39 041 2405430
+39 041 2405401
Double Meaning Masterclass
Collective sculpture workshop using soft stone
On May 6 and 7, 2023, a special Doppio Senso event took place: an inclusive, two-day sculpture workshop open to blind, partially sighted, and sighted visitors. After a tactile exploration of a selection of works in the collection through their reproductions in relief, participants took part in a workshop in which they created an image in relief and subsequently collectively produced a sculpture.
For more information:
doppiosenso@guggenheim-venice.it
+39 041 2405430
+39 041 2405401
Double Meaning: Tactile Tours of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection is organized in collaboration with the Istituto dei Ciechi di Milano and the Italian Union of the Blind and Partially Sighted People, with the supoort of ICOM Italia (International Council of Museums). Double Meaning is also made possible by a generous donation by Florim. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation’s programs for visitors who are blind or partially sighted are supported by Ornellaia.