ATELIER BRÜCKNER has designed INNOKLUSIO, an exhibition on inclusion at work. It will be on show at Boehringer Ingelheim starting 10 July. Currently, 14 companies are participating in the touring exhibition, which is sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs; among them are Beiersdorf, Bayer, GLS Bank, Deutsche Welle and Generali.
The mobile exhibition offers five walk-in, freely combinable cubes with interactive media stations and learning games on the theme of inclusion. Questions printed in large letters on the outer walls of the cubes help to orientate and arouse curiosity; accompanying portrait photos make them appear as a personal address. The cubes differ in colour and theme. They are accessible at ground level and, like inviting portals, can be entered from two sides.
Guides, with and without disabilities, accompany visitors through the exhibition and offer the opportunity to ask questions and engage in conversation. Individual visits are also possible. The exhibition is in German, English, German sign language and braille. All stations are designed to be inclusive.
The green cube starts with the question “Are you ready to question yourself?”, while the red cube offers games to the question: “What do you know about disability?” For example, in the quiz “Fill the Gap”, visitors learn that the most common cause of disability is a stroke.
The pink cube entitled “What stands in our way?” is all about accessibility. An audiovisual station illustrates different forms of barriers: Clicking on mapped objects of a workplace opens access to personal stories and experiences related to these objects. The blue cube with the title “Can we talk?” shows different possibilities of communicative interaction. For example, German sign language is practised in a game with a partner.
The Black Box is a key element of the exhibition. Here visitors, accompanied by a visually impaired guide, experience what it is like to live a life in complete darkness. On its outer walls, they can leave their ideas, written answers and impulses to the questions “How do we make our communication inclusive?”, “How do we make our decisions inclusive?”, “How do we make our products & services inclusive?” and “How do we make our spaces inclusive?”.
“Every sixth person in Germany lives with a disability. And only 57 percent of people with disabilities of working age are integrated into the labour market,” according to available data from Dialogue Social Enterprise GmbH, which developed the content of the exhibition.
There are many reasons for this lack of inclusion. The aim of the exhibition is to draw attention to prejudices, grievances, opportunities and potentials. It is primarily aimed at the employees of the participating companies. Boehringer Ingelheim is also planning an open day on 15 July.
Since the 1980s, Dialogue Social Enterprise GmbH has succeeded in sensitising and inspiring people with innovative exhibition projects in marginalized issues in our society. The format “Dialogue in the Dark” is still very popular today. In 2014/15 ATELIER BRÜCKNER realized the exhibition “Dialogue with Time” for the Museum of Communication in Frankfurt am Main and Berlin. This project was about growing old and being old.
Photography: Michael Reiner