What if you could hear a Picasso? New Charlotte museum exhibit expands inclusion

Charlotte Observer – A new installation at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in uptown Charlotte is a collaboration with Charlotte resident and UNC Charlotte grad Davian “DJ” Robinson ’20, a visually impaired dancer and choreographer. It invites visitors to experience art not just with their eyes, but with their full bodies through sound, movement and presence. It’s called “Collection, Reframed: We Are Here, Beyond Vision.”

The exhibition opened in early July and runs through Sept. 22. It uses immersive video, spatial audio and something called “data sonification” to transform how we engage with visual art.

“People always say visual art isn’t for blind folks,” Robinson told the Charlotte Observer. “But if you just expand the medium, anyone can experience it. Accessibility is about imagination.”

One of the show’s innovative elements is its use of “data sonification,” or the process of translating data into sound. That required taking hundreds of high-resolution photos of three artworks from the Bechtler’s permanent collection: a painting by UNC Charlotte art professor Maja Godlewska titled “White” (2004), a bronze by Barbara Hepworth called “Garden Sculpture (Model for Meridian)“ (1958) and a tapestry by Pablo Picasso, “The Acrobat” (1968).

“People think access means doing the bare minimum,” Robinson said. “But when you lead with access, you unlock a whole new realm of artistic possibility. This show isn’t just about inclusion — it’s about reimagining the entire system

Read the full Charlotte Observer story by Amy Carleton here.

Photo by Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez. Dance alum Davian Robinson in front of a video installation at the Bechtler Museum.