Interview
Thinking About Easy Language Right from the Start: How Accessibility Enriches Curation
How can easy language be integrated into the conception and design of an exhibition right from the start? Krishna Sara Helmle works as an easy language trainer and advises museums on accessible communication. In our training course "The Basics of Curating", she has broadened her perspective on exhibition-making and gained new ideas on how accessibility can become a natural part of an exhibition. In this interview, she explains why it is worth considering accessibility right from the start – and why the course is particularly interesting for those new to the museum and exhibition sector.
Julia Sammler (JS): You work as an easy language trainer and specialise in accessible communication. In this context, what attracted you to our training course ‘The Basics of Curating’?
Krishna Sara Helmle (KSH): I work a lot with museums, and as an Easy Language agency, we’re often only brought in at a very late stage in the exhibition process. I signed up for the training course because I wanted to better understand how ‘putting on exhibitions’ works – where you typically start. I hope that this will enable me to advise clients more effectively and convince them that they should consider and plan for easy language and accessibility in general right from the start.
JS: Has the training course changed your perspective on exhibitions and their accessibility – for example, in terms of how content is conveyed or how visitors are addressed?
KSH: Yes, it certainly has. It was helpful for me that we were able to experience and discuss various exhibition concepts. I now have more ideas on how easy language can be integrated into an exhibition in terms of design and layout.
JS: Were there any insights from the course that you were able to link directly to your work on easy language or accessible communication?
KSH: Not specifically, but what I’ve learnt keeps finding its way into my work.
JS: In your view, what role can comprehensibility and easy language play right from the conception stage of exhibitions – rather than just in the communication phase afterwards?
KSH: If we consider and plan for comprehensibility and easy language right from the start, this has a direct influence on the design and structure of an exhibition. For example, we use a larger and more legible font, less text overall, and pay attention to the height at which we position texts on a wall. We incorporate easy language so that it is not an afterthought, but an integral part of the exhibition. This also makes it easier to communicate the exhibition’s content, as it is presented consistently in easy language across the board – whether it’s website text, object descriptions or an audio guide.
JS: What did you find particularly enriching about the exchange within the group – and to whom would you recommend this training programme?
KSH: I thought the great diversity of the group and the institutions represented was brilliant. This meant we saw a wide variety of museums, concepts and developments, and were also able to support one another. I’d recommend this training programme to anyone who wants to learn more about how to put on exhibitions but doesn’t want to commit to a full degree course straight away. It’s therefore particularly well-suited to people making a career change into the museum and exhibition sector.
The interview was conducted by Julia Sammler.
Would you like to learn for yourself how exhibitions are conceived, organised and realised? Our course‘The Basics of Curating’ will be offered again in 2027.