A Knowledge Base for Arts and Inclusion -- The Dataverse data archival platform as a knowledge base management system enabling multimodal accessibility

Abstract: Creating an inclusive art environment requires engaging multiple senses for a fully immersive experience. Culture is inherently synesthetic, enriched by all senses within a shared time and space. In an optimal synesthetic setting, people of all abilities can connect meaningfully; when one sense is compromised, other channels can be enhanced to compensate. This is the power of multimodality. Digital technology is increasingly able to capture aspects of multimodality. To document multimodality aspects of cultural practices and products for the long-term remains a challenge. Many artistic products from the performing arts tend to be multimodal, and are often immersive, so only a multimodal repository can offer a platform for this work. To our knowledge there is no single, comprehensive repository with a knowledge base to serve arts and disability. By knowledge base, we mean classifications, taxonomies, or ontologies (in short, knowledge organisation systems). This paper presents innovative ways to develop a knowledge base which capture multimodal features of archived representations of cultural assets, but also indicate various forms how to interact with them including machine-readable description. We will demonstrate how back-end and front-end applications, in a combined effort, can support accessible archiving and data management for complex digital objects born out of artistic practices and make them available for wider audiences.