Dialogue in the Dark
Traveling Exhibit Presents Blindness as Perspective, Not Disability
Nov 10, 2008
For blind people, crossing a city street or finding a park bench pose challenges most people can’t imagine, let alone solve without help. Those visiting Dialogue in the Dark (DITD), where everyday situations are navigated without sight, get that help from blind guides, and often leave seeing their own limitations and the strength of the disabled in a new light.
In this unique exhibition where blind people provide orientation and mobility, blindness is transformed from a disability to an indispensable skill set and a different mode of perception.
A Brief History of Dialogue in the Dark
Andreas Heinecke, a German TV journalist, conceived DITD in 1986 while developing a rehabilitation program for a blind colleague, Heinecke‘s first exposure to blind people. He quickly observed three things:
- Society’s prejudice of the blind stems from ignorance
- Meeting blind people could enrich many lives
- Such encounters should take place in the dark
Heinecke later joined Frankfurt’s Foundation for the Blind (Stiftung Blindenanstalt) and launched Dialogue in the Dark late in 1988, which was soon exhibited at museums, fairs, and festivals. In 1996, Heinecke began franchising exhibits and corporate training and teambuilding programs to increase awareness and inclusion of blind people.
DITD has employed over 5,000 blind and visually impaired people and attracted more 6 million visitors in 25 countries, four of which (Germany, Israel, Italy, and the US) have permanent exhibits.
A Dialogue-in-the-Dark Journey
A typical DITD exhibit takes up to eight people through rooms in which scents, sounds, and textures construct places such as a park, a city sidewalk, or a bar.
Visitors are taught how to use a long cane and made aware of safety regulations. Comfort is key; uneasy guests are led out immediately.
The group passes through an entrance. Lights slowly dim to darkness, and a blind guide greets the group to lead the hour-long tour. Most tours begin with a park scene: bushes, trees, a fountain, bridges, benches, and paths of gravel, grass, and mud. Breezes blow, scents waft in, while birdsong and a rushing stream complete the invisible landscape, inspiring visitors to create their own mental images.
The second room is stressful: a city whose traffic noise, cacophonous voices, and construction equipment make orientation difficult; mailboxes, signs, bins, cars, and bikes challenge the search for a pedestrian crossing. Here, blind leadership is indispensable.
Next is a mini sea voyage: visitors cross a footbridge, sit on benches, feel the wind, spray, and waves, and hear seagulls and passing tankers.
Other DITD exhibits might include a supermarket, a gallery with sculptures, or a “sound room” where visitors lie on the floor and sample music as a whole-body experience via high-performance speakers.
At exhibition’s end, visitors reach a bar, are welcomed with music and a bartender who takes their food and drink and, along with the blind guide, answers questions. Talking without sight deepens the experience.
Dialogue in the Dark in Kansas City, Missouri
Dialogue in the Dark premiers in Kansas City’s Union Station (30 West Pershing Road) on November 14, 2008 and will run till March 29, 2009. The exhibit will be open Tuesday through Sunday. Tickets are $22 for adults; $18 for seniors and children (ages 4-12).
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