Interpreting Portraiture Collections

• Toolkit Homepage
• Interpretation - for whom?
• Interpretation - how?
• Interpretation - of what?
• Further reading and resources
• Beningborough Hall Case Study
• Acknowledgements
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Interpretation in Words

Written Interpretation - Continuous Text

Much has already been published about writing museum and gallery text - see Museum Practice and elsewhere. Some key points include:

• Think about who should write the text - do you want just the museum's voice or would a visitor's viewpoint be valuable too?
• Set word limits and stick to them
• Agree approximate reading level but don't simply apply it mechanically
• Layer text within one piece of writing
• Layer text across whole room or display
• Provide extra pick-up text to give greater depth to visitors who want it
• Create children's text at lower reading level, shorter length, coloured type and larger point size
• Test text on a sample of visitors before committing money to it

Reference: Beningbrough Case Study

Reference: http://www.npg.org.uk/live/beninfocus.asp

Written Interpretation - Questioning Text

Questioning text is often difficult to get right, partly because of adult nervousness about getting answers wrong and appearing foolish. However, once right, it allows visitors to decode portraits for themselves and builds transferable skills. Questions can aid visitors' thinking while doing an activity. Either completely open-ended questions (preferences etc) or having a method of checking the answer may help:

• Check with Front of House and Learning staff what questions visitors ask about the portrait(s)
• Panels with three or four questions - if they accompany an activity make sure point size is large enough to be read while doing the activity
• Flaps to lift or slide, with the question on the outside and the answer hidden underneath

Reference: Beningbrough Case Study

Spoken Words

ideally provided by live enablers/interpreters but this is not always possible (though consider if front of house staff could do this). Remember that spoken language differs in tone and construction from written language, so write scripts in a conversational, rather than formal, manner.

Wherever possible, use methods of delivery that allow listeners to make their own choices, rather than long continuous recordings (and ensure all equipment is easily useable by people with disabilities)

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