Accessibility at the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum

Faithful to its long standing commitment to removing barriers to access to its collections and the literary world of the great Greek writer, the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum has completed the project “Enhancing Universal Accessibility at the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum”, funded by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. liminal led the accessibility adaptation of selected exhibits in the Permanent Exhibition for people with visual impairments, as well as for D/deaf and hard of hearing people.

On the exterior of the Kazantzakis Museum, the author’s handwritten signature is rendered in monumental three-dimensional form against a backdrop of thin horizontal wooden beams, with his calligraphic letters printed vertically in white.

“Enhancing Universal Accessibility at the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum”

This project is a natural continuation of the earlier program “Kazantzakis for All: Improving Accessibility to the Author’s Work and the Eponymous Museum”, which was also implemented with the support of the Ministry of Culture in 2022, as part of initiatives for museums of modern culture. The aim of both initiatives is the meaningful expansion of access for socially vulnerable groups and the strengthening of an inclusive visitor experience at the Museum.

The new project was designed following extensive consultation with representatives of the beneficiary groups, in particular with the Regional Association of the Blind of Crete. It includes two main deliverables:

  • the inclusive adaptation of four videos presented in the Permanent Exhibition, and
  • the creation and installation of a three-dimensional tactile panel in the Museum’s outdoor area.

Accessible videos by liminal

The videos present excerpts from:

  • newsreel footage of the period covering the funeral of Nikos Kazantzakis in 1957

and film adaptations of the works:

  • Zorba the Greek
  • Christ Recrucified and
  • The Last Temptation of Christ.

For each video, liminal created two versions (in Greek and English), featuring Audio Description, translation, interpretation in Greek Sign Language and International Sign Language, as well as subtitles for D/deaf and hard of hearing audiences. The production involved professional voice artists, interpreters and subtitlers with specialised expertise in accessibility.

Collage of images from the video screens available at the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum. Visible are excerpts from the film Zorba the Greek with interpretation in Greek Sign Language, as well as other black-and-white archival footage from the period featuring integrated accessibility services.

Three-dimensional tactile panel

This three-dimensional tactile panel for the Museum complex, the largest of its kind in Greece, was created by Giorgos Mikrou (Mind the Map). The panel presents the three Museum buildings (the Permanent Exhibition, the Multipurpose Space/Shop, and the Administration, Library, Archive and Conference Centre building), while also depicting, in relief, a map of Crete that shows the spatial relationship of Myrtia to the inland area of Heraklion. It includes a legend in Greek and English, in large print for low vision people, as well as Braille in both languages. The new panel has been integrated into the existing tactile route, functioning as an introductory orientation point.

Exterior view of the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum. In the outdoor area, a tactile model has been installed, with descriptions guiding blind and partially sighted visitors through the Museum’s spaces.

With these new interventions, the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum aims to systematically support people with visual or hearing impairments, providing the most complete and positive visitor experience possible. At the same time, the project seeks to raise broader public awareness of accessibility, promoting the principle that culture should be accessible and open to all.