‘3D Printing: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful’ exhibition content
The aim of this exhibition was to explore how to effectively design and curate a temporary exhibition that
brings intellectual accessibility for visitors with sight loss.
The exhibition was held at the National Centre for Craft & Design’s Main Gallery. We explored how citizens,
designers, and other professions are adopting 3D printing. How this technology is bringing about social,
organisational, and economic shifts was interpreted for visitors, by Professor Chick, through the key themes
and selected exhibits, text panels, audio interpretations, public talks, and an education program.
The works were selected by Professor Chick and Bryony Windsor (Head of Exhibitions at the NCCD). The
exhibition explores the innovative, political, social and environmental aspects of 3D printing. Highlighting
that whilst the process is opening up new creative possibilities for makers, the technology also raises other
complex questions – the role of designer and maker; authorship; our relationships with objects,
customisation and mass production; conservation or changing history; environmental problem or a way of
democratising medicine?
‘The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful’ is an immersive experience that includes light, sound and touch to
create new levels of accessibility for audiences with different impairments, especially sight loss. The
exhibition is part of an ongoing research study by the University of Lincoln into accessibility for visually
impaired audiences.
The non-permanent exhibition was open to the public from 28th January to 23rd April 2017 and during this
period co-assessment by research participants, including the NCCD curatorial team; people with sight loss
and other impairments, and their companions and carers; as well as RNIB representatives. There were
15,043 visitors to this exhibition, with 63% being aged 65 years or over.