Entangled

Abstract

Exhibitions and collections of art museums mostly consists of visual art. When we talk about “contemporary art” museums, people immediately think about paintings, photographs and sculptures: visual arts. Monet’s, Van Gogh’s and Picasso’s paintings, photographs of William Klein, sculptures by Richard Serra or Woody Allen’s movie. All these artworks are experienced by observing them with your eyes. Visiting those visual artworks in museums, possibilities to reflect on the social and political situations of today, are offered. However, for a great number of people the world of experiencing visual artworks is not accessible. They do not know how paintings can provoke imagination. Non-visually handicapped people can visit any “visual” art museums, and experience artworks with all their senses. A visually handicapped person, has less museum possibilities to go to and experience contemporary art. Art museums should be more accessible for visually handicapped people but also for people with other disabilities such as hearing impairment or people living in a wheelchair. Synesthetic art is a form of art where more than one sense contributes to the experience of an art work. There are art genres using other senses than only the visual sense. Sound, smell, taste, we can include them. Take music as an example, music has just as many opportunities to provoke imagination as a visual artwork.
A second problem we are facing today is gentrification. The process of upgrading neglected urban neighborhoods, in which the current, less wealthy residents and initial small entrepreneurs and pubs, have to move out of the way for the middle class and their catering industries and companies. Through the experience of synesthetic art, the new museum aims to stimulate and include current residents, offers appropriate daily-life activities, which are accessible for everyone, and where visually handicapped people are no longer excluded. A node of multiple scales (urban and social) will be created in my design. 
To respond to the lack of synesthetic art museums and the problem gentrification, the definitions and experiences of aesthetics and synaesthetics will be explained and discussed. It is fundamental to have knowledge about the relation between architecture and the human sense. The main question of this research plan therefor will be:
What architectural means are essential to provoke and reinforce our imagination while experiencing synesthetic art?
In order to answer the Research Question of this study, literature about synaesthesia, synesthetic art and gentrification are necessary. The “Van Abbe Museum” in Eindhoven has established to create a “multi-sensory museum”. This museum project is used as a case study to understand what people with impairments need and miss in current contemporary art museums. During a visit to the museum called “MuZIEum” in Nijmegen, the visual sense has been taken away, an experience of being visually handicapped leads to the awareness about the kind of art that can be experienced without seeing. 
The aim of my graduation project is to re-wire Tarwewijk, Rotterdam-Zuid, through an art museum. A museum that is able to contribute to an improvement of social conditions in a neighbourhood. And where current residents from the direct surroundings are stimulated and included.