The “Learning in order to Teach” project and mediation in museums using Brazilian sign language (Libras)

• Main Authors: Daina Leyton, Cibele Lucena, Joana Zatz Mussi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sissa Medialab 2008-12-01
• Series: JCOM: Journal of Science Communication
• Online Access: http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/07/04/Jcom0704%282008%29C01/Jcom0704%282008%29C07/Jcom0704%282008%29C07.pdf

This article seeks to reflect on mediation in museums based on experiences that occurred in the “Learning in order to Teach” Project. In this case, the mediation acquires specific characteristics because it deals with young deaf people learning art-related contents in order to teach other youth in their first language. The most interesting aspect of this encounter between museum and deaf culture is a mutual, immediate and highly visible influence. While museum-goers and professionals understand that the “gestures” used by the deaf are not random (rather, on the contrary, they make up a complex language), new signs are created by the students based on the contents that are worked with and discovered in the museum. These new signs thus enrich the language itself and begin to circulate within the community.