Une Oeuvre, Un Regard: making art accessible

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About the client

The Musée d'Orsay and Musée de l'Orangerie are home to some of France’s most iconic collections of paintings from the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Famous for its Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces, the Musée d’Orsay also houses world-renowned architecture, sculpture, decorative arts and photography from this period. Through its programme of exhibitions (scientific, digital and cultural) and its invitations to contemporary practitioners, the Musée d’Orsay contributes to an ongoing re-interpretation of the Impressionist and post-Impressionist era.  

The project

Services:
Subtitling

Languages:
English, French

“Une Oeuvre, Un Regard” is a digital programme from the Musée d'Orsay and Musée de l'Orangerie. Launched in 2019, it consists of an invitation to artists from all fields of creativity (literature, dance, cinema, theatre, art, design, music, etc.) to present a work of their choice from the collections of both museums. To date, almost fifty videos have been made with the participation of leading contemporary figures. These were then added to the museum's digital platforms (website, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) to be accessible to a wider audience. 

Our approach

As part of a skills-based sponsorship programme with the Musée d'Orsay and VSI Paris, we produced English subtitles and French subtitles for the “Une Oeuvre, Un Regard” project.

On a weekly basis for its first season and alternative weeks in its second season, the museum introduced new videos to its visitors, both in the museum and via its social networks. Each video presented the thoughts of a contemporary figure (artist, writer, philosopher, designer, musician, actor, director, filmmaker, scientist, etc.) on their chosen piece from the collections of the Musée d'Orsay and Musée de l'Orangerie.

For this project, we chose subtitlers well-versed in art and painting, and put in place two levels of proofreading to ensure a high-quality outcome. We worked closely with the museum to build a unique partnership allowing our team to provide its expertise and skills pro bono, thereby supporting the museum’s efforts to reach a wider audience internationally and within the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.

Outcome

We were incredibly pleased to play a part in the launch of this sponsorship programme, and we enjoyed working with the museum for more than a year as a localisation and access services provider. We look forward to continuing this collaboration, offering our skills and expertise to the museum to help make content more accessible to a larger audience. 

Donatien Grau – Head of Contemporary Programs at Musée d'Orsay had this to say:

“Working with VSI on this project has been truly enriching and fascinating. The precision of their subtitling, the critical intelligence with which they identify the sometimes-complex worlds participants use, are remarkable. Whatever the accent, they get it. Whatever the complexity of the word, they translate it. It is exciting to collaborate with such partners!”