Beyond Boundaries: Exploring Inclusive Futures in Culture and Technology

How can cultural heritage and art experiences be made more inclusive for everyone?

This question took centre stage when we gathered for the final MuseIT symposium in early September. Over the past three years, our research project has brought together researchers, cultural heritage institutions, artists, and user organisations across Europe to co-create new ways of experiencing culture. The results of this collective journey came to life during Beyond Boundaries – Multisensory Innovations for Inclusive Futures, a two-day event in Borås and Gothenburg that celebrated innovation, collaboration, and inclusion.

A Showcase of multisensory Innovations

On the first day, hosted at the University of Borås, we shared the outcomes of our research and development. Participants were introduced to:

• The full spectrum of MuseIT research results — including user studies, participatory and co-design methods, multisensory representations of cultural assets, the Virtual Museum concept, innovative tools such as MuseMeUp, Picture2Notes and HaptiVerse, as well as inclusive data repositories, enrichment workflows, and policy recommendations for accessibility and digital heritage.

• The MuseIT WebUI platform, a digital gateway to explore cultural heritage in more inclusive ways.

• Music creation tools powered by bodily signals such as heartbeat, brainwaves, and mood estimation,  transforming biological rhythms into collaborative soundscapes.

• And the The Tactile Stories project, new forms of multisensory narratives that invite users to experience stories through touch, sound, and imagination.

Beyond presentations, we invited participants to immerse themselves in hands-on demonstrations. They explored technologies such as HaptiVerse, MuseMeUp, and multisensory digital heritage exhibitions, experiencing firsthand how cultural access can be expanded when more senses are engaged. This interactive exchange between researchers, artists, and visitors created a vibrant dialogue about the future of cultural participation. A heartfelt thank you to Raymond Holt (University of Leeds), member of our advisory board, for skillfully moderating the symposium across both days.

Voices That Inspire

The symposium also became a stage for inspirational voices from different parts of the world: 

• Dr. Riitta Lahtinen, pioneer of social-haptic communication, and Russ Palmer, music therapist and vibroacoustic practitioner, shared their experience of co-designing multisensory interactions with MuseIT and communities living with sensory impairments.

• Artist Micce Rylander invited us to reimagine art itself. Through tactile prints, soundscapes, and imagination, he showed how abstract art can transcend the visual and invite audiences to “see” with their ears, hands, and inner imagery.

As our project coordinator Nasrine Olson summarised:

“We have shown that accessibility is not a technical fringe topic, but a part of cultural work itself. Through multisensory innovations, we can create experiences that include more people.”

Coordinator Nasrine Olson opening the Symposium

Russ Palmer and Riitta Lahtinen delivering their keynote

Tactile Clothing

Haptic Vest

Installation by Artist Micce Rylander and Canon

EEG MuseIT tools

From Policy to Practice

The second day took place at the Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg, where discussions expanded beyond technology into the realms of policy and long-term sustainability.

Keynote speaker Femke Krijger, holistic therapist and researcher of tactile senses, encouraged us to embrace differences as a source of strength by “harvesting the hidden power of differences.”

Sara Rundqvist and Stefan Eklund, from Eldorado Resurscenter in Gothenburg, shared practical insights from their work on designing exhibitions that are physically and communicatively accessible to people with severe intellectual disabilities.

A unique policy roundtable brought together European and national leaders, including Niels Righolt (Danish Centre for Arts & Interculture), Marie-Véronique Leroi (French Ministry of Culture), Dino Angelaccio (architect and accessibility expert), and Emil Erdtman (Independent Living Institute, Sweden). Together with participants, we explored how cultural policies can evolve to ensure inclusivity from the outset. The recommendations discussed during this session will form the backbone of our last policy recommendations, helping decision-makers translate research insights into concrete action.

Art and creativity were central throughout the event. The symposium continued with a unique co-creation performance in which participants engaged directly with MuseIT’s music-generation technologies, blending art and science to produce collaborative soundscapes based on real-time biosignals. On stage at the Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg, the performance featured Anders Jonhäll (flute, Gageego!), Ewe Larsson (grand piano, electronic instruments, Elefantöra), and My Hellgren (cello, Gageego!). At the same time, a remote ensemble at ELEMENT Studio contributed live, with Sayam Chortip (electronic instruments, voice, Elefantöra), Jonas Larsson (vibraphone, Gageego!), and Peter Larsson (iPad, electronics). This hybrid, multisensory performance embodied the spirit of MuseIT: accessibility not as an afterthought, but as a catalyst for innovation, creativity, and shared cultural participation.

Artists Anny Wang & Tim Söderström, and Josefin Vargö presented works that blurred the lines between disciplines: installations that could be felt, heard, smelled, and even tasted. These multisensory provocations highlighted how heritage can open up new forms of connection, challenging conventions of what cultural experiences can and should be.

Culinary Installation by Josefin Vargö

Co-Creation Performance.

Installation by artists Anny Wang & Tim Söderström

Policy Roundtable

Looking Ahead

Our final symposium was more than a closing event, it was a celebration of everything we have achieved together and a call to continue the journey. Over the past three years, we have shown that accessibility is not an add-on, but a core dimension of cultural life. By combining research, technology, and co-creation, we have built tools and practices that expand the cultural landscape and make it more inclusive for all.

The challenge now is to carry these insights forward. We invite cultural institutions, policymakers, and communities to build on what we have started, embedding accessibility from the very beginning, strengthening infrastructures, and continuing to co-create with people of all abilities.

Beyond Boundaries was both a milestone and a starting point. Together, we can shape a cultural future where everyone has the opportunity to experience, create, and share art on their own terms.

Find our playlist with recordings of all our event: