Alt Text As Poetry Workbook PDF 2020 12 01

Alt-Text
as P etry
W rkb k
• By Bojana Coklyat & Shannon Finnegan → alt-text-as-poetry.net
Section 1: Before You Start
• Who We Are and Why We
Made This
• Who This Is For
• This Work Is Part Of
An Ecosystem
• Intent
• How To Get Started
• Access Note
• What You’ll Need
Section 2: Reading
• What Is Alt-Text?
• Alt-Text and You
Section 1:
• Writing Alt-Text
• Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
Before You Start Artists For Alt-Text

•
• Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
• Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
• Writing Exercise 1:
Warm-Up
Subjectivity and Audience
• Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
• Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
Section 4: Going Forward

• Keep In Touch
• Alt-Text Study Club
• A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
2 • License Info & Colophon
Welcome! Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
We’re glad you’re here!! • Who This Is For

An Ecosystem
• Intent
This workbook is a collaboration between artists Bojana Coklyat • How To Get Started
• Access Note
and Shannon Finnegan, supported by Eyebeam and the Disability • What You’ll Need
Visibility Project.
Section 2: Reading
Eyebeam “enables people to think creatively and critically about •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
technology's effect on society, with the mission of revealing • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
new paths toward a more just future for all.” • Artists For Alt-Text
as Poetry?
The Disability Visibility Project “is an online community dedicated • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture.”
Section 3: Practice
We’re excited for you to join us in exploring alt-text and hopefully Warm-Up
in the process work towards making online communities more • Writing Exercise 2:
accessible, fun, and welcoming. • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Who We are and Why We Made This Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
This book was written by Shannon Finnegan and Bojana Coklyat. • Who This Is For
We are both disabled artists and activists. We met in New York An Ecosystem
• Intent
City through mutual friends. We realized there was a lot of • How To Get Started
• Access Note
overlap between our interests and decided to jump into this • What You’ll Need
collaborative project.
Section 2: Reading
Both of us are interested in how communities can move towards •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
better and more nuanced approaches to access. Instead of • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
focusing on compliance and doing the minimum, what if we • Artists For Alt-Text
approach access creatively and generously, centering disability • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
culture? How do we make spaces and experiences that disabled • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
people not only can access but want to access?
Section 3: Practice
Alt-text is an essential part of web accessibility. It is a system of Warm-Up
text descriptions built into websites, which makes visual content • Writing Exercise 2:
accessible to people who are blind, low vision, or have certain • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
cognitive disabilities. Alt-text has existed since the 1990s, but • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
it is often over-looked altogether or understood solely through
the lens of compliance. The resulting alt-text is often written in Section 4: Going Forward
a reluctant, perfunctory style, but it has tremendous expressive

• Keep In Touch
potential. This workbook re-frames alt-text as a type of poetry • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
and provides exercises to practice writing it. We don‘t just want • Tools
• Thank yous
alt-text users to be able to access visual content on the internet, Section 1: Before You Start
we want them to feel a sense of belonging in digital spaces. Made This
• Who This Is For
About Bojana Coklyat: An Ecosystem
• Intent
I am a visual artist, activist, and scholar. • How To Get Started
• Access Note
I focused my MA studies on the intersection of Disability Studies • What You’ll Need
and Art Administration. This included an internship at the
Section 2: Reading
Whitney Museum of Art in its Access and Community program • What Is Alt-Text?
and participation in the 2018 Kennedy Center International con- •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
ference on Leadership Exchange in the Arts and Disability. In • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
2019, I curated Crip Imponderabilia a groundbreaking show for • Artists For Alt-Text
the NYU Gallatin Gallery. I‘m also currently on the NYU Advisory • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
Committee for the Kimmel Gallery and have done consulting • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
work for The Whitney, NYU Gallatin Galleries, and the New York
Jewish Museum. I have also worked as an artist and grassroots Section 3: Practice
access organizer in the Jersey City community for decades, Warm-Up
curating events and exhibits featuring disabled artists. In 2020, • Writing Exercise 2:
I completed a 2019–2020 Fulbright Research Grant in the • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
Czech Republic, focusing my research on access in the arts for • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
disabled people.
I‘m a smiley white woman with a chin-length brunette bob. I‘m

• Keep In Touch
about 5-feet 6-inches, easing into my 40s and usually have my • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
white cane with me when outside. Tonight, I‘m wearing a typical • Tools
• Thank yous
outfit of late, a graphic black and white t-shirt, cherry red Section 1: Before You Start
cardigan and black jeans. Made This
• Who This Is For
About Shannon Finnegan: An Ecosystem
• Intent
I am a multidisciplinary artist making work about accessibility • How To Get Started
• Access Note
and disability culture. I have done projects with Banff Centre, • What You’ll Need
the High Line, Tallinn Art Hall, Nook Gallery, and the Wassaic
Section 2: Reading
Project. I have spoken about my work at the Brooklyn Museum, • What Is Alt-Text?
School for Poetic Computation, The 8th Floor, and The Andrew •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library. In 2018, I received a • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
Wynn Newhouse Award and participated in Art Beyond Sight’s • Artists For Alt-Text
Art + Disability Residency. In 2019, I was an artist-in-residence at • Why Think of Alt-Text

as Poetry?
Eyebeam. • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
I‘m a 5-foot-2-inch, blond, white person. I‘m a fairly small person Section 3: Practice
and I‘m in my early 30s, though people often tell me I look Warm-Up
younger. My disability affects my walking so I move with a slight • Writing Exercise 2:

wobble. I‘m currently writing from home where I‘m wearing • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
a blue, gingham PJ-set. • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Who This Is For Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
We started this project with our immediate communities in • Who This Is For
mind: artists, art organizations, creative people of different An Ecosystem
• Intent
kinds. Images of art frequently travel online, but we felt like a lot • How To Get Started
• Access Note
of pre-existing alt-text guidelines didn‘t fit the needs of artwork. • What You’ll Need
Section 2: Reading
Initially, we also focused on social media platforms (Instagram, • What Is Alt-Text?
Facebook, Twitter). Because of the way these platforms have •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
been built, it is the responsibility of each user to make their • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
content accessible. (More about that in the section Alt-Text and • Artists For Alt-Text
You). These platforms have become important spaces for com- • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
munity building. The low adoption of alt-text features creates • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
major barriers for blind and low vision people to participate and
feel a sense of belonging. So if you use social media, this is Section 3: Practice
for you. Warm-Up
In the time since our first alt-text workshops, we‘ve received • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
positive feedback from a variety of people outside our initially • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
imagined audiences — teachers, writers, librarians, copywriters,
and more. Section 4: Going Forward
• Keep In Touch
This is all to say that the audience for this practice is expansive. • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
It may be relevant to your work or community in ways we haven‘t • Tools
• Thank yous
yet imagined. And even if the online circulation of images isn‘t Section 1: Before You Start
a part of your life, we believe that alt-text raises issues that are Made This
interesting to think about regardless. • Who This Is For

An Ecosystem
• Intent
• Access Note
Section 2: Reading
Description
• Artists For Alt-Text
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• This Work Is Part Of An Ecosystem Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
This project is part of an elaborate and rich ecosystem of work • Who This Is For
around this topic. None of these ideas are new — disabled peo- An Ecosystem
• Intent
ple have been asking for and producing thoughtful and creative • How To Get Started
• Access Note
approaches to alt-text and description for a long time. And this • What You’ll Need
work is only possible because of the thinking, writing, dreaming,
Section 2: Reading
and organizing disabled people have done to shape how we • What Is Alt-Text?
understand access in general. It exists alongside the important •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
work about description that‘s being done by many other artists • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
and thinkers. • Artists For Alt-Text
as Poetry?
These are a few on our radar, but certainly, there are many, • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
many more:
→ Aislinn Thomas → Section 3: Practice
→ Amalle Dublon → Warm-Up
→ Aubree Penney → • Writing Exercise 2:

→ Candystore • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
→ Carmen Papalia • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
→ Carolyn Lazard
→ Chancey Fleet Section 4: Going Forward
→ Constantina Zavitsanos →
• Keep In Touch
→ Georgina Kleege • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
→ Jerron Herman → • Tools
• Thank yous
→ Jesse Darling → Section 1: Before You Start
→ Jordan Lord Made This
→ Joshua Miele • Who This Is For
→ Justin Allen An Ecosystem
• Intent
→ Kayla Hamilton • How To Get Started
→ Kinetic Light • Access Note

→ Liza Sylvestre
Section 2: Reading
→ Louise Hickman → • What Is Alt-Text?
→ Madison Zalopany → • Alt-Text and You
→ Park McArthur • Alt-Text vs. Image
→ Pelenakeke Brown → •
Description
Artists For Alt-Text
→ Rebirth Garments • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Intent Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
The purpose of this workbook is not to tell you how to write alt- • Who This Is For
text. There are many existing resources that provide guidelines An Ecosystem
• Intent
and how-tos (you can find a few listed in the Tools section). • How To Get Started
• Access Note
Our primary intent is to put alt-text on your radar (if it wasn’t • What You’ll Need
already), to get you thinking about it creatively, and to explore
Section 2: Reading
a few of the key questions that come up when translating images • What Is Alt-Text?
into text. •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
Description
We hope these exercises make clear that, like all accessibility • Artists For Alt-Text
practices, writing alt-text requires ongoing practice, learning, • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
and collaboration. • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
The needs and wants of blind and low vision people in your Section 3: Practice
community should take priority over a workbook like this. And Warm-Up
certainly, if you are part of an organization or institution, you • Writing Exercise 2:

should be hiring disabled people (both for access work and • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
throughout your organization including leadership roles). We • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
also want to note that our thinking about alt-text is shifting
and changing all the time. And of course, people have lots of Section 4: Going Forward
different opinions about how to approach alt-text. So take all of

• Keep In Touch
this with a grain of salt, seek out alternate viewpoints, and feel • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
free to disagree. • Tools
• Thank yous
• How To Get Started Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
This workbook consists of: • Who This Is For

→ Reading that introduces alt-text and An Ecosystem
• Intent
alt-text as poetry. • How To Get Started
• Access Note
→ A series of writing exercises. • What You’ll Need
Section 2: Reading
This workbook is designed for pairs. You can do them on your • What Is Alt-Text?
own, but we’ve found participants learn a lot from reading some- •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
one else’s alt-text and having a chance to discuss the process. • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
For the exercises, you’ll be asked to write on your own. Afterward, • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
you can share your writing with your partner and discuss. • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
We estimate the full workbook takes between 1.5 and 2.5 hours. Section 3: Practice
Feel free to break up the time, skip sections, or re-order things Warm-Up
however you like. • Writing Exercise 2:

Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Access Note Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
The four exercises in this workbook involve a process of de- • Who This Is For
scribing images. You’ll select the images, so feel free to pick An Ecosystem
• Intent
ones that best work for you in terms of contrast levels and • How To Get Started
• Access Note
image complexity. Each exercise involves writing 2–4 sentences. • What You’ll Need
Work with your partner to set a pace that feels good to both of
Section 2: Reading
you. Also know that you don't need to finish writing in order to • What Is Alt-Text?
move into discussion. •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
Description
So far, we’ve primarily conducted this workshop with sighted • Artists For Alt-Text
people. If you or your partner is blind or low vision, the exercises • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
may need to be reconfigured. One option is to pair sighted and • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
blind people, and write the descriptions collaboratively. Another
would be for blind people to take on a role that involves giving Section 3: Practice
feedback and asking questions about the descriptions. Alterna- Warm-Up
tively, you can eschew the describing entirely and instead use • Writing Exercise 2:
the exercise introductions as discussion prompts. Or you may • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
have other ideas about how to make this material work best • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
for you.
• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• What You'll Need Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
→ A partner • Who This Is For

Alt-text is not a neutral topic — what we see and how we An Ecosystem
• Intent
name it is political. We recommend doing this workbook with • How To Get Started
• Access Note
a friend or peer. Someone you feel safe talking through • What You’ll Need
disagreements with and who you trust to respect your bound-
Section 2: Reading
aries (and vice versa). • What Is Alt-Text?
→ A way to document your descriptions — voice memos • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
speech-to-text tools, typing, handwriting, or whatever • Artists For Alt-Text
you prefer! • Why Think of Alt-Text

as Poetry?
• Examples
→ 4 images
Don’t spend too much time selecting these, just grab some- Section 3: Practice
thing that piques your interest and go with it. You can print Warm-Up
these out or gather them on a computer/phone/tablet. • Writing Exercise 2:

Length, Priorities
↳ 2 images found online. If you don’t have specific images • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
you want to work with, we suggest choosing artworks
from an online collection. Section 4: Going Forward
• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
↳ 1 photo taken by each partner (so 2 images total). If you Section 1: Before You Start
have a phone that takes photos, pull up the last photo on Made This
your camera roll, or the last photo you posted to social • Who This Is For
media. Or you can take a photo in the moment. It just has An Ecosystem
• Intent
to be a photo you take. • How To Get Started
• Access Note
↳ 1 headshot from our Google Drive folder.
Section 2: Reading
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
Made This
• Who This Is For
An Ecosystem
• Intent
• Access Note
Section 2: Reading
Section 2:
Description
Reading Artists For Alt-Text

•
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• What Is Alt-Text? Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
Alt-text (or alternative text) is a written description of an image • Who This Is For
posted online. It has multiple uses, but we are focused on its An Ecosystem
• Intent
role as an essential part of web accessibility. Alt-text allows • How To Get Started
• Access Note
visual content to be accessible to people who are blind, have • What You’ll Need
low vision, or have certain cognitive disabilities.
Section 2: Reading
Blind people often use software called screen readers to access •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
digital displays. The screen reader outputs the text on the • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
screen to a synthetic voice or refreshable braille display. On • Artists For Alt-Text
a website, a screen reader might readout options in the naviga- • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
tion bar, followed by the title, the first paragraph, the second • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
paragraph, etc. When a screen reader encounters an image,
it’s unable to “read” it. So instead, it looks for the alt-text — an Section 3: Practice
associated description of the image, embedded in the code. Warm-Up
This is how alt-text functions as a non-visual alternative to • Writing Exercise 2:

an image. • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Alt-Text and You Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
Alt-text is not visually displayed on a website, so if you aren’t • Who This Is For
a web developer or a screen reader user, you mostly interact An Ecosystem
• Intent
with alt-text by writing it and adding it to your images through • How To Get Started
• Access Note
designated form fields during the image upload process. When • What You’ll Need
you include alt-text with your images, you contribute to making
Section 2: Reading
the internet a more accessible place. • What Is Alt-Text?
You have the option to add alt-text to your posts on Twitter, • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
Instagram, and Facebook. Depending on the platform you use, • Artists For Alt-Text
it may be possible to add alt-text to your personal website or • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
blog (and if the platform doesn’t include a field for entering • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
alt-text, you can usually work around that by including an
image description in the caption or somewhere else adjacent Section 3: Practice
to the image). Warm-Up
It is important to note that alt-text is only one part of web • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
accessibility. Don’t assume that because you’ve added alt-text • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
a website is fully accessible.
You may be able to influence the accessibility practices where

• Keep In Touch
you work or volunteer. Even if the organization’s website or • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
social media aren’t directly your responsibility, it’s worth asking • Tools
• Thank yous
questions about accessibility practices to make sure that people Section 1: Before You Start
are aware of alt-text. Made This
• Who This Is For
If you are looking for instructions about how to add alt-text to An Ecosystem
• Intent
a specific platform, you should be able to find a step-by-step • How To Get Started
• Access Note
guide by searching online. For example, search “how to add • What You’ll Need
alt-text to twitter.”
Section 2: Reading
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Writing Alt-Text Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
Wikipedia’s style guide offers these questions to ask yourself • Who This Is For
when you are writing alt-text: An Ecosystem
• Intent
→ Why is this image here? • How To Get Started
• Access Note
→ What information is it presenting? • What You’ll Need
→ What purpose does it fulfill?
Section 2: Reading
Though alt-text is usually thought of as part of the nuts and •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
bolts of a website, it has tremendous expressive potential. How • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
to translate visual information into text is a complex and inter- • Artists For Alt-Text
esting task. • Why Think of Alt-Text

as Poetry?
• Examples
That said, when thinking about its expressive potential, it is
important to stay rooted in alt-text as an accessibility practice. Section 3: Practice
When writing alt-text, work in a way that centers the experience Warm-Up
of someone who has limited or no access to the visual informa- • Writing Exercise 2:
tion in the image. • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• A Note About Alt-Text vs. Image Description Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
In this workbook, we use alt-text and image description inter- • Who This Is For
changeably to refer to a description of an image, but it is An Ecosystem
• Intent
important to note that they have slightly different meanings. • How To Get Started
• Access Note
Alt-text is a type of image description, but not all image
Section 2: Reading
descriptions are alt-text. • What Is Alt-Text?
From Rooted in Rights: “Alt-text is a type of ‘hard-coded’ meta- • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
data associated with an image that exists as HTML. It is most • Artists For Alt-Text
often included in an ‘Alt-text’ field when uploading an image.” • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
• Examples
“Image description” is a more general term — it refers to any
description of an image, including one that is included in the Section 3: Practice
body of a post or the caption field of an image. Warm-Up
You may also have heard the terms “audio description” and • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
“verbal description.” “Audio description” is audio-based and • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
usually refers to the description of visual information in the
context of video, film, television, or live performance. For exam- Section 4: Going Forward
ple, movie theaters may offer headsets for audio description.

• Keep In Touch
“Verbal description” usually refers to longform description in • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
a museum context. For example, a “verbal description tour.” • Tools
• Thank yous
Alt-text, image description, audio description, and verbal Section 1: Before You Start
description are a related set of practices. While this workbook Made This
is focused on alt-text, our approach could also be adapted to • Who This Is For
other forms of description. An Ecosystem
• Intent
• Access Note
Section 2: Reading
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Artists for Alt-Text Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
We have been particularly interested in artists that are involved • Who This Is For
in the description of their own work, either by writing the de- An Ecosystem
• Intent
scription themselves, or otherwise orchestrating the description • How To Get Started
• Access Note
process. Some people feel artists are not good describers of • What You’ll Need
their own work — that they describe in ways that align with their
Section 2: Reading
intent rather than the impact (intended or not) of what they’ve • What Is Alt-Text?
created. This can certainly be true, and it may make sense for •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
an artist to bring in collaborators or editors to mitigate this • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
tendency with another point of view. • Artists For Alt-Text
as Poetry?
We feel that artists bring an interesting perspective to the de- • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
scription process and can help make the description feel like an
integral part of the creative work rather than simply an add-on. Section 3: Practice
As Georgina Kleege advocates in her book, More than Meets Warm-Up
the Eye: What Blindness Brings to Art, an artist’s process can • Writing Exercise 2:
be a valuable source of information for the description. • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
and Representation
We also feel cautious about suggesting that artists describe
their own work because most are already so under-resourced. It Section 4: Going Forward
is often not possible for an artist to take on the role of access

• Keep In Touch
worker without support structures in place (compensation, sup- • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
port for their own access needs, training, etc). Importantly, we • Tools
• Thank yous
do believe that artists who work visually should acknowledge Section 1: Before You Start
that this creates barriers for certain audiences to engage with Made This
their work. If it is important to the artist that people who are • Who This Is For
blind and low vision are part of their audience (and it should An Ecosystem
• Intent
be), then they might need to be part of creating that access. • How To Get Started
• Access Note
Depending on an artist’s identity and the circumstances of
Section 2: Reading
when and how they present their work, they have different • What Is Alt-Text?
levels of agency, power, and resources. When working with •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
organizations and institutions, artists can sometimes leverage • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
their power to ask for access. Institutions are sometimes more • Artists For Alt-Text
responsive to artists’ requests than they are to those of their • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
own access workers. • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
One example that we’ve been thinking about is when an artist Section 3: Practice
sends an image to an organization or institution to be used Warm-Up
in marketing or promotional materials. These images usually • Writing Exercise 2:

travel with a standard set of text-based information (photog- • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
rapher credit, title, year, materials, dimensions, etc). By also • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
sending alt-text with this information, an artist may prompt dis-
cussion within the organization about their digital accessibility Section 4: Going Forward
practices and whether or not they have a place or infrastructure

• Keep In Touch
for that alt-text. • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Why Think of Alt-Text as Poetry Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
Framing alt-text as a type of poetry allows us to approach it • Who This Is For

with some of the ideas and strategies that have been developed An Ecosystem
• Intent
by poets. • How To Get Started
• Access Note
That said, we’re not interested in producing alt-text poetry that
Section 2: Reading
exists outside of making the internet more accessible. We rec- • What Is Alt-Text?
ognize that others have used alt-text and code as inspiration •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
and media for poetry, but for us, increasing website accessibility • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
remains the first and most important condition of alt-text’s • Artists For Alt-Text
poetic potential. • Why Think of Alt-Text

as Poetry?
• Examples
Here are three ideas from the world of poetry that we have
found to be particularly helpful when writing alt-text: Section 3: Practice
→ Attention to Language Warm-Up
Simply by writing alt-text with thought and care, we shift the • Writing Exercise 2:
process. What words are we using? What are their connota- • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
tions? What is the tone of our writing (the way in which we’re • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
doing the writing)? What is the voice (who the reader hears)?
How do these align with, or contrast, the tone and perspective Section 4: Going Forward
of the image?
• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
→ Word Economy Section 1: Before You Start
People who are new to description have a tendency to over- Made This
describe images. While there are times for long and lavish • Who This Is For
descriptions, alt-text usually aims for brevity. For most imag- An Ecosystem
• Intent
es, one to two sentences will do. Poetry has a lot to teach us • How To Get Started
• Access Note
about paring down language to create something that is • What You’ll Need
expressive, yet concise.
Section 2: Reading
→ Experimental Spirit •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
We have so much to learn from poetry about being more • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
playful and exploratory in how we write alt-text. We are not • Artists For Alt-Text
interested in experimentation for experimentation’s sake — • Why Think of Alt-Text

as Poetry?
we want a kind of experimentation that moves towards better • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
and more nuanced accessibility for alt-text users. There
are lots of complex and interesting questions that come up Section 3: Practice
when translating visual information into text. We need to try Warm-Up
out different ways of doing this, learning from each other's • Writing Exercise 2:
strategies and techniques. • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Alt-Text as Translation Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
Writing alt-text is also related to the field of translation. It can • Who This Is For
be thought of as a translation of visual information into text. An Ecosystem
• Intent
These are a few things we think alt-text can learn from the field • How To Get Started
• Access Note
of translation: • What You’ll Need
→ Information is both lost and gained. Alt-text won’t describe
Section 2: Reading
all of the information in the image, but the act of describing • What Is Alt-Text?
also adds information. •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
Description
→ There is no single correct answer. If you ask ten people to • Artists For Alt-Text
describe an image, you will get ten different descriptions. • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
The same person might describe an image differently based • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
on what’s on their mind or what context they are writing
for. Better understanding the variety of ways to describe Section 3: Practice
an image is part of the ongoing work of honing our craft Warm-Up
as describers. • Writing Exercise 2:

Length, Priorities
→ It always involves creative decisions. Every time you describe • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
an image you are making creative decisions — what you
describe, the order in which you describe it, the language Section 4: Going Forward
you use to describe.

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
Here are a few examples from Instagram of poetic alt-text. Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
→ Dealth Valley National Park • Who This Is For

↳ @dealthvalleynps An Ecosystem
• Intent
Twisted wood branches in the foreground with an arc of stars • How To Get Started
• Access Note
in the sky above a dark distant mountain. • What You’ll Need
Section 2: Reading
→ Candystore • What Is Alt-Text?
↳ @agaywhitemale •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
Candystore, a white non-binary body, stands on a urinal wear- • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
ing black boots, black jeans, a black leather jacket, a black • Artists For Alt-Text
faux leather hat from a gas station stuck with a black raven’s • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
feather, a shadow cast over half shimher face, sibylline. • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
→ Madison Zalopany Section 3: Practice

↳ @mzalopany Warm-Up
A screenshot of me being very impressed by my nephew • Writing Exercise 2:

Harry’s new hat. The hat is a plastic green roof taken from • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
a doll’s house. • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
→ Justin Allen Section 4: Going Forward
↳ @justnalln
• Keep In Touch
A sea of purple aster flowers, with round yellow centers and • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
thick manes of straight thin lavender petals, like purple dasies. • Tools
• Thank yous
People who are new to alt-text often feel like they are learning Section 1: Before You Start
a totally new skill, but in fact, most of us engage with description Made This
all the time — talking on the phone, in literature, hearing about • Who This Is For
a friend’s travels, in art history and art criticism. An Ecosystem
• Intent
• Access Note
As one example, this is from Donald Judd’s 1959 review of • What You’ll Need
Yayoi Kusama’s first solo exhibition in New York and it is quite
Section 2: Reading
descriptive: • What Is Alt-Text?
“[There are] five white, very large paintings in this show. The • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
space is shallow, close to the surface and achieved by innumer- • Artists For Alt-Text
able small arcs superimposed on a black ground overlain with • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
a wash of white. The effect is both complex and simple... The • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
total quality suggests an analogy to a large, fragile, but vigor-
ously carved grill or to a massive, solid lace.” Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Here is another example from The God of Small Things by • Writing Exercise 2:
Arundhati Roy: • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
and Representation
"...a silver-framed black-and-white wedding picture of Chacko
and Margaret Kochamma. It was snowing a little. The first he Section 4: Going Forward
was dressed. Like someone at a fancy-dress party. flakes of

• Keep In Touch
fresh snow lay on the street and sidewalk. Chacko was dressed • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
like Nehru. He wore a white churidar and a black shervani. His • Tools
• Thank yous
shoulders were dusted with snow. There was a rose in his Section 1: Before You Start
buttonhole, and the tip of his handkerchief, folded into Made This
a triangle, peeped out of his breast pocket. On his feet he wore • Who This Is For
polished black oxfords. He looked as though he was laughing An Ecosystem
• Intent
at himself and the way he was dressed. Like someone at a fancy • How To Get Started
• Access Note
dress party. • What You’ll Need
Section 2: Reading
Margaret Kochamma wore a long, foaming gown and a cheap • What Is Alt-Text?
tiara on her cropped, curly hair. Her veil was lifted off her face. •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
She was as tall as he was. They looked happy. Thin and young, • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
scowling, with the sun in their eyes. Her thick, dark eyebrows • Artists For Alt-Text
were knitted together and somehow made a lovely contrast to • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
the frothy, bridal white. A scowling cloud with eyebrows." • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
Made This
• Who This Is For
An Ecosystem
• Intent
• Access Note
Section 2: Reading
Section 3:
Description
Practice Artists For Alt-Text

•
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
Okay! Time to practice! Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
• Writing Exercise 1: Warm-Up • Who This Is For

An Ecosystem
• Intent
This exercise is adapted from “Audio Description as a Pedagogi- • How To Get Started
• Access Note
cal Tool” by Georgina Kleege & Scott Wallin published in • What You’ll Need
Disability Studies Quarterly.
Section 2: Reading
This is designed to be a warm-up so don’t worry about getting •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
things right — just write down whatever pops into your head. • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
→ Pull up one of the images you found online. (If you haven’t • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
selected images yet, refer back to What You’ll Need.) • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
→ You and your partner should work with the same image, but Section 3: Practice
as you follow the next steps, write your own responses rather Warm-Up
than doing so collaboratively. We suggest this because it is • Writing Exercise 2:

helpful to surface the ways we all see and interpret images • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
differently, and how that impacts our approach to image • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
→ description. Later, you’ll share your writing with your partner,
compare and contrast what you wrote, and discuss. Section 4: Going Forward
• Keep In Touch
→ List things (objects, people, stuff, nouns) that are present • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
in the image or related to the image. • Tools
• Thank yous
Aim to write 5 words, but if you are on a roll, write as many Section 1: Before You Start
as come to mind. Made This
• Who This Is For
→ List descriptive words or adjectives that describe the image, An Ecosystem
• Intent
a part of the image, or your response to it. What’s the mood • How To Get Started
• Access Note
of the image? What associations do you have? • What You’ll Need
Section 2: Reading
Again, aim to write 5 words, but if you are on a roll, write as • What Is Alt-Text?
many as come to mind. •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
→ Share your writing and discuss with your partner: Section 1: Before You Start
↳ Are there words you both wrote down? Made This
• Who This Is For
↳ Are there words on your partner’s lists that surprised you? An Ecosystem
• Intent
Or made you notice something about the image? • How To Get Started
• Access Note
↳ Any other general thoughts or things you noticed about
Section 2: Reading
the process? • What Is Alt-Text?
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Writing Exercise 2: Subjectivity and Audience Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
Many people have advocated for describers to be as objective • Who This Is For
as possible, allowing the person engaging with the description An Ecosystem
• Intent
to make their own subjective interpretation. • How To Get Started
• Access Note
However, there has been a lot of push back on the idea that
Section 2: Reading
objectivity should be a central goal of description. Objectivity • What Is Alt-Text?
is an incredibly elusive concept — where is the line between •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
fact and interpretation? As Georgina Kleege writes, do we say • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
“smile” or do we say “lips turned up at the corners”? • Artists For Alt-Text
as Poetry?
The pretense of objectivity plays into existing power structures. • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
“Objectivity” often validates the perspective of white, cis, middle
and upper-class men while marking other perspectives as “sub- Section 3: Practice
jective.” Furthermore, it is unclear if an “objective” approach Warm-Up
produces quality descriptions. Trying to be an objective writer • Writing Exercise 2:

often leads to language that is precise and technical. The • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
resulting writing can be difficult to understand, or starkly con- • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
trast the tone of the image.
For this exercise, you’ll need a photo that you’ve taken. If you
• Keep In Touch
have a smartphone, pull up a photo there — it can be the last • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
photo on your camera roll or the last photo you posted to • Tools
• Thank yous
social media. Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
→ Describe this image as though you are a complete stranger • Who This Is For
who has stumbled across it for the first time. Pretend that An Ecosystem
• Intent
you’ve never seen it before and have no context for the image. • How To Get Started
• Access Note
→ Describe the image again, this time from your own perspec-
Section 2: Reading
tive, as though you were describing it to your best friend. • What Is Alt-Text?
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
↳ Are the descriptions you wrote similar or different? In what Made This
ways? • Who This Is For

An Ecosystem
• Intent
↳ Is there anything you noticed when writing in those two • How To Get Started
• Access Note
different modes? • What You’ll Need
Section 2: Reading
↳ Do you like one description better than the other? Why? • What Is Alt-Text?
↳ Is there a middle ground between these approaches? • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
Describing an image is an inherently subjective process — Section 1: Before You Start
as you write, you are drawing on your own ways of seeing and Made This
making sense. However, a description should aim to provide • Who This Is For
a clear understanding of the image to an intended audience. An Ecosystem
• Intent
People who use alt-text are not a monolith. They want different • How To Get Started
• Access Note
things from an image description and they interpret language • What You’ll Need
in different ways. When describing, think through who you
Section 2: Reading
are speaking to. It’s probably similar to how you would speak • What Is Alt-Text?
to your audience when writing for a website or social media •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
account as a whole. What tone makes the most sense for this • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
audience? What do they already know or have context for? What • Artists For Alt-Text
jargon, slang, shorthand, and vocabulary is relevant? • Why Think of Alt-Text

as Poetry?
• Examples
An issue with how alt-text currently exists is that its author
is often unattributed. Because we know that the description’s Section 3: Practice
author impacts the description, transparency around author- Warm-Up
ship and process is something to explore. Depending on the • Writing Exercise 2:

scale of your operation, there are different ways to approach this. • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
One option is to include information somewhere on your website • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
about who writes the alt-text and what guidelines and processes
they use to write it. Section 4: Going Forward
• Keep In Touch
Clear authorship also opens up options around using the • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
first-person voice when writing alt-text and other phrases that • Tools
• Thank yous
signal the subjective nature of the process: Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
→ “X reminds me of...” • Who This Is For

→ “X stands out to me” An Ecosystem
• Intent
→ “If I guessed, it would say it’s...” • How To Get Started
• Access Note
→ “I think it looks like X, but after reading about the work, I • What You’ll Need
learned it’s Y.”
Section 2: Reading
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Writing Exercise 3: Structure, Length, Priorities Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
This exercise is about how we might structure and prioritize • Who This Is For
information in an image description. It is important to consider An Ecosystem
• Intent
that someone using a screen reader may only listen to or • How To Get Started
• Access Note
read the beginning of the description before skipping to the • What You’ll Need
next thing.
Section 2: Reading
The structure of the alt-text may also be important for impact. •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
If you remember this example: “A screenshot of me being very • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
impressed by my nephew Harry’s new hat. The hat is a plastic • Artists For Alt-Text
green roof taken from a doll’s house.” Here Madison is using the • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
structure of the information for comedic effect — she starts by • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
saying that she is impressed with the hat and then reveals that
it is the roof of a doll’s house. It’s good to think of the structure Section 3: Practice
of information as another aspect of creative control. Warm-Up
→ Pull up one of the images you found online (refer back to • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
What You’ll Need if you haven’t selected images yet). • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
A reminder: you and your partner should be working with the Section 4: Going Forward
same image, but as you follow the next steps, write on your
• Keep In Touch
own rather than responding collaboratively. • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
→ Write a single sentence to describe the image. The sentence Section 1: Before You Start
should capture whatever you think is most important about Made This
the image. • Who This Is For

An Ecosystem
• Intent
• Access Note
Section 2: Reading
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
→ Now write a second sentence about the second most Section 1: Before You Start
important thing in, or about, the image. Made This
• Who This Is For
An Ecosystem
• Intent
• Access Note
Section 2: Reading
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
→ Write a third sentence about the third most important thing. Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
• Who This Is For
An Ecosystem
• Intent
• Access Note
Section 2: Reading
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
↳ Did you and your partner structure your description in Made This
similar or different ways? • Who This Is For

An Ecosystem
• Intent
↳ Are there things your partner prioritized that you don’t • How To Get Started
• Access Note
think are as important? Or vice versa? • What You’ll Need
Section 2: Reading
↳ Any other things you noticed or thought about when you • What Is Alt-Text?
were writing? •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Writing Exercise 4: Identity and Representation Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
This exercise is a chance to think more about describing people. • Who This Is For
An Ecosystem
• Intent
Lots of information about identity is communicated visually, • How To Get Started
• Access Note
but that information is often filtered through guesswork, • What You’ll Need
interpretation, and bias. When and how do we describe race,
Section 2: Reading
gender, disability status, age, height, weight, etc? How do we • What Is Alt-Text?
acknowledge visual cues about the expression of identity with- •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
out making assumptions about how a person identifies? How • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
do we decide what information about a person is important to • Artists For Alt-Text
understanding the image? How do we respond to the fact that • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
many people have made intentional and specific choices about • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
language related to their identity, but we may not know them
or the choices that they’ve made? Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Shannon, one of the authors of this workbook, found this • Writing Exercise 2:
description by @dealthvalleynps: • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
and Representation
“a man gives the peace sign on an expansive salt flat with
desert mountains in the background” Section 4: Going Forward
• Keep In Touch
In the image, the person is seated in a wheelchair. As a disabled • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
person, Shannon felt like not mentioning the person’s wheel- • Tools
• Thank yous
chair in the description was jarring. It felt like a type of erasure. Section 1: Before You Start
But lots of other identity markers also go unmentioned including Made This
the subject’s approximate age and that they present as white. • Who This Is For
Additionally, we don’t know if the author of the alt-text knows An Ecosystem
• Intent
this person’s gender identity, or if they made an assumption. • How To Get Started
• Access Note
Upon reflection, Shannon also thought about their own bias • What You’ll Need
around who they imagine in a national park, which is rarely
Section 2: Reading
a wheelchair user. Noting the wheelchair in the description • What Is Alt-Text?
may feel important to them because of their own internalized •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
ableism and failure to imagine disabled people in those spaces. • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
This is all to say that this is a nuanced topic and one we think • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
is important for more people to be thinking and talking about, • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
instead of avoiding or glossing over it.
Section 3: Practice
With all this in mind: Warm-Up
→ Describe yourself as you are today in 3–5 sentences. What • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
would be important for your partner to know if they couldn’t • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
access visual information about you? If it is helpful to work
from an image, take a quick selfie, and describe that. Section 4: Going Forward
• Keep In Touch
→ Select a random headshot from this Google Drive folder. • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
Again, you and your partner should be working with the • Tools
• Thank yous
same image, but as you follow the next steps, write on your Section 1: Before You Start
own rather than responding collaboratively. Made This
• Who This Is For
→ Describe the person in the headshot in 3–5 sentences. An Ecosystem
• Intent
• Access Note
Section 2: Reading
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
→ Find the corresponding description for your headshot in this Section 1: Before You Start
Google Doc. This description was written by the person in Made This
your photo. (All these headshots are from a previous version • Who This Is For
disabledlist.org, when it was a directory for creative disabled An Ecosystem
• Intent
people. Everyone featured on the site described their own • How To Get Started
• Access Note
headshot). • What You’ll Need
Section 2: Reading
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
→ Discuss with your partner: Section 1: Before You Start
↳ Chat about the process of writing these descriptions. Made This
• Who This Is For
↳ Were there things you felt comfortable describing about An Ecosystem
• Intent
yourself that you didn’t feel comfortable describing about • How To Get Started
• Access Note
someone else? Or vice versa? • What You’ll Need
Section 2: Reading
↳ What are some of the ways your identity and your politics • What Is Alt-Text?
impacted your approach to these descriptions? •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
Description
↳ In disability spaces, people are often asked to self-describe • Artists For Alt-Text
images of themselves. What are some pros and cons to • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
this approach? • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
For reference, these are some strategies that we’ve heard about Section 1: Before You Start
when describing people. All have limitations and drawbacks. Made This
• Who This Is For
→ Always have people self-describe An Ecosystem
• Intent
→ Have people self-describe with an editorial process (If needed, • How To Get Started
• Access Note
the editor can raise questions like, “X seems like an important • What You’ll Need
part of the image to me. Why did you choose not to describe
Section 2: Reading
that?”) • What Is Alt-Text?
→ Avoid using identity categories and instead focus on specific •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
attributes (“This person has shoulder-length hair and is wear- • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
ing orange lipstick.”) • Artists For Alt-Text
→ Use language that is clear about when an assumption is being • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
made (“To me, this person presents as white.”) • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
In disability communities that we are part of, we’ve witnessed Section 3: Practice
a move towards self-description. Some of the pros to this Warm-Up
option are that people have agency over the language used • Writing Exercise 2:
in relation to themselves. They control what information is • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
shared. But self-description is not a silver bullet. There are still • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
drawbacks to this approach. One is that people unfamiliar with
image description as an access tool may have difficulties with Section 4: Going Forward
self-description simply because it’s a new skill. Another is that

• Keep In Touch
sometimes, people don’t describe parts of their identity that, • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
due to power structures, they are able to consider (consciously • Tools
• Thank yous
or unconsciously) as the “default.” For example, white people Section 1: Before You Start
not describing their whiteness. An editorial process can help Made This
mitigate these issues. But depending on the power dynamics • Who This Is For
of the collaboration, editing can put people with marginalized An Ecosystem
• Intent
identities in a position where they feel like they need to explain • How To Get Started
• Access Note
or justify their description. • What You’ll Need
Section 2: Reading
Like other areas of description, describing people is a practice • What Is Alt-Text?
that requires ongoing thought, re-evaluation, and accountability. •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
Description
This is the end of the exercises!! Thank you for trying this out!! • Artists For Alt-Text
as Poetry?
We hope you feel a little more knowledgeable about alt-text, • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
have lots of new questions, and will continue practicing and
learning about description. Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
If you have time, take a minute to jot down some of the key • Writing Exercise 2:
things that you’ve learned, ideas you have, and questions you • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
want to explore. • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
Made This
• Who This Is For
An Ecosystem
• Intent
• Access Note
Section 2: Reading
Section 4:
Description
Going Forward Artists For Alt-Text

•
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Keep In Touch Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
We welcome feedback on this workbook. Feel free to • Who This Is For

get in touch! An Ecosystem
• Intent
• Access Note
Shannon Finnegan: studio@shannonfinnegan.com • What You’ll Need
Bojana Coklyat: bojanacoklyat@gmail.com
Section 2: Reading
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Alt-Text Study Club Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
Alt-Text Study Club is an evolving container for things that we • Who This Is For
think might encourage the ongoing study and practice of alt- An Ecosystem
• Intent
text writing. • How To Get Started
• Access Note
#AltTextStudyClub
Section 2: Reading
We created this Instagram hashtag to link people who have • What Is Alt-Text?
done a workshop with us or used this workbook. The idea is to •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
hashtag Instagram posts with image descriptions or alt-text in • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
order to learn from each other. • Artists For Alt-Text
as Poetry?
On our website • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
This is a blog of notable image descriptions and our thoughts
about them. In the future, it may also include interviews and Section 3: Practice
other writing about description. Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• A note about Alt-Text as Poetry with groups Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
We are excited about this information being shared. If you know • Who This Is For
of a group (students, colleagues, friends, etc) that would be An Ecosystem
• Intent
interested in this material, this workbook can be adapted into • How To Get Started
• Access Note
a workshop. • What You’ll Need
Section 2: Reading
We’ve adapted this workbook into a workshop with groups • What Is Alt-Text?
ranging from 6–30 people. An advantage of doing this with •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
a group is that you have more perspectives in the mix for the • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
discussions. • Artists For Alt-Text
as Poetry?
→ You can use the workbook as a loose script for a workshop. • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
Depending on the group, you may want to adjust, skip, or
edit some of the text. We fully support modifying this material! Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
→ We usually use a set of slides when we do the workshop. In • Writing Exercise 2:

the spirit of non-visual communication, we avoid using images • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
in the presentation. Instead, the slides feature some of the • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
denser segments of text, so that people who want to read
along can do so. Alternatively you could provide printed or Section 4: Going Forward
digital copies of the workbook.

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
→ We made a set of worksheets for workshops. You can down- • Tools
• Thank yous
load them here. Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
→ When planning for a group, we recommend printing out • Who This Is For
a selection of images ahead of time. Also have these on hand An Ecosystem
• Intent
digitally in case there are participants who prefer that format. • How To Get Started
• Access Note
For exercises 1 and 3, you can use any images. We often • What You’ll Need
select images that are relevant to the group (For example,
Section 2: Reading
if we are doing the workshop with dancers, we pick photos • What Is Alt-Text?
of dance). •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
Description
→ If you choose to do this with a group, it is important to com- • Artists For Alt-Text
municate with the group about the accessibility of the work- • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
shop — both the host venue and the workshop structure • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
and content. If you are new to thinking about accessibility
in relation to event planning, we recommend reading these Section 3: Practice
suggestions from Sins Invalid. Warm-Up
→ Alt-text is not a neutral topic, so the workshop will be • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
impacted by power disparities in the room. Spend some • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
time thinking through who could be harmed in this setting
and plan ways to mitigate. For example, if the group is not Section 4: Going Forward
familiar with the distinction between gender identity and

• Keep In Touch
gender presentation, you will need to build in more informa- • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
tion about that before describing people. And, of course, • Tools
• Thank yous
stay flexible and responsive to feedback. Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
• Who This Is For
An Ecosystem
• Intent
• Access Note
Section 2: Reading
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Tools Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
→ More than Meets the Eye: What Blindness Brings to Art By • Who This Is For
Georgina Kleege An Ecosystem
• Intent
This book was foundational to this project and is a wealth of • How To Get Started
• Access Note
knowledge about the relationship between blindness and • What You’ll Need
visual information.
Section 2: Reading
→ Web Accessibility in Mind •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
Web AIM is a non-profit focused on expanding web accessi- • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
bility. Their guide to alt-text is a great overview. • Artists For Alt-Text
as Poetry?
→ Art Beyond Sight’s Verbal Description Training • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
Art Beyond Sight’s training is geared toward longform
description and focused on art. It includes lots of techniques Section 3: Practice
relevant to describing images online. Warm-Up
→ MCA Chicago Guidelines for Describing • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
MCA Chicago is one of the only big museums we know • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
of that tries to describe all of the images on their website.
They have a brief set of guidelines that are an interesting Section 4: Going Forward
reference point.
• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
→ Rooted in Rights Accessibility Guide • Tools
• Thank yous
Rooted in Rights is a Seattle-based organization that has Section 1: Before You Start
done extensive work around creating and promoting accessi- Made This
ble media practices. • Who This Is For

An Ecosystem
• Intent
→ Accessibility in the Arts: A Promise and a Practice • How To Get Started
• Access Note
By Carolyn Lazard, Commissioned by Recess • What You’ll Need
“Accessibility in the Arts: A Promise and a Practice is an
Section 2: Reading
accessibility guide geared toward small-scale arts nonprofits • What Is Alt-Text?
and the potentially expansive publics these organizations •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
serve. It details specific ways in which disabled people are • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
excluded from cultural spaces and offers possible solutions • Artists For Alt-Text
to those barriers. Moving away from historical and juridical • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
definitions of accessibility, this guide considers the unique • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
capacity of small scale arts organizations to meet the needs
of disabled communities. It engages principles of disability Section 3: Practice
justice to think through what can urgently be done to create Warm-Up
more equitable and accessible arts spaces.” • Writing Exercise 2:

Length, Priorities
→ Access is Love • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
By Mia Mingus, Alice Wong, and Sandy Ho
Access is Love includes a resource list with a bunch of great Section 4: Going Forward
readings and guides about accessibility. They also have a list

• Keep In Touch
of 10 ways to start creating and expanding access. • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
→ Browser extensions / add ons Section 1: Before You Start
For Firefox Made This
For Chrome • Who This Is For

Most devices have a built-in screen reader that you can turn An Ecosystem
• Intent
on to check out alt-text as you move around the web. It takes • How To Get Started
• Access Note
some time to learn how to use a screen reader, so another • What You’ll Need
option is these browser extensions that visually surface the
Section 2: Reading
alt-text. It’s an easy way to read other people’s descriptions • What Is Alt-Text?
and get a sense of how few images are described at all. •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• Thank Yous Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
Produced with support from: • Who This Is For

An Ecosystem
• Intent
→ Eyebeam • How To Get Started
• Access Note
Eyebeam enables people to think creatively and critically • What You’ll Need
about technology's effect on society, with the mission of
Section 2: Reading
revealing new paths toward a more just future for all. • What Is Alt-Text?
→ Disability Visibility Project • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
The Disability Visibility Project is an online community • Artists For Alt-Text
dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability • Why Think of Alt-Text

as Poetry?
media and culture. • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
This workbook was shaped by thoughtful feedback from friends Section 3: Practice
and colleagues. Warm-Up
Thank you to: • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
and Representation
→ Alan Lundgard
→ Alex Finger Section 4: Going Forward
Erik Benjamins
• Keep In Touch
→ • Alt-Text Study Club
→ J. Soto • A Note About Alt-Text as
Poetry with Groups
→ Jordan Lord • Tools
• Thank yous
→ Nimo Ali Section 1: Before You Start
→ Nora Rodriguez Made This
→ R. Orion Martin • Who This Is For

→ Rachel Handler An Ecosystem
• Intent
• Access Note
Copy Editing by: • What You’ll Need
Erik Benjamins
Section 2: Reading
Digital PDF Design by: •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
Companion–Platform • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
A Note on the Design from Companion–Platform: • Why Think of Alt-Text

as Poetry?
We hope that this PDF finds you well, on whichever device it • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
lands. We made these pages with ease of navigation in mind.
An ever present table of contents on the right allows one to Section 3: Practice
move quickly or nonlinearly from section to section, while visual Warm-Up
anchors are used to break each section up while navigating • Writing Exercise 2:
up or down. We used the same shrub glyphs from the printed • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
workbook, borrowed from landscape architecture, to gently • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
allude to green spaces which we gather and return to again and
again, which is how we hope this text feels. Section 4: Going Forward
• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
Lexi Visco: Section 1: Before You Start
I’m a 5 foot 4 inch white person, with long blond hair and short, Made This
homemade bangs. I’m in my early 30’s and have faint smile • Who This Is For
lines that frame my blue eyes. I’m currently writing this in the An Ecosystem
• Intent
studio I share with Calvin, which is growing dark as the sun be- • How To Get Started
• Access Note
gins to set. I’m barefoot and wearing thick denim pants, a thick, • What You’ll Need
green wool cardigan, and yellow wool beanie.
Section 2: Reading
Calvin Rocchio: •
•
Alt-Text and You
Writing Alt-Text
I am a somewhat lanky 6-foot 2-inch white person in my very • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
early 30's. I have a scruffy face and am wearing round gold • Artists For Alt-Text
wire-frame glasses which are tucked into disheveled hair. I'm • Why Think of Alt-Text
as Poetry?
currently wearing a boxy blue chore jacket, and loose, light col- • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
ored jeans. My bare feet are resting on the cool wooden floor
of Mine and Lexi's studio, which is quite dark as the sun has just Section 3: Practice
set, and we have yet to turn a light on. Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• License Info & Colophon Section 1: Before You Start
Made This
Published 2020 • Who This Is For

An Ecosystem
• Intent
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribu- • How To Get Started
• Access Note
tion-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy • What You’ll Need
of this license, visit Creative Commons or send a letter to Cre-
Section 2: Reading
ative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA. • What Is Alt-Text?
You are free to: • Alt-Text vs. Image
Description
→ Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or • Artists For Alt-Text
format • Why Think of Alt-Text

as Poetry?
→ Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material • Alt-text as Translation
• Examples
Under the following terms: Section 3: Practice

→ Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link Warm-Up
to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may • Writing Exercise 2:
do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that sug- • Writing Exercise 3: Structure,
Length, Priorities
gests the licensor endorses you or your use. • Writing Exercise 4: Identity
and Representation
→ NonCommercial — You may not use the material for com-
mercial purposes. Section 4: Going Forward
• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous
• This workbook is available as an audiobook, Word Doc, Google Section 1: Before You Start
Doc, and in Spanish → https://alt-text-as-poetry.net/ Made This
• Who This Is For
An Ecosystem
• Intent
• Access Note
Section 2: Reading
Description
as Poetry?
• Examples
Section 3: Practice
Warm-Up
Length, Priorities
and Representation

• Keep In Touch
Poetry with Groups
• Tools
• Thank yous

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Alt-Text

Before You Start Artists For Alt-Text

Section 4: Going Forward

We’re glad you’re here!! • Who This Is For

Section 4: Going Forward

a reluctant, perfunctory style, but it has tremendous expressive

I‘m a smiley white woman with a chin-length brunette bob. I‘m

Art + Disability Residency. In 2019, I was an artist-in-residence at • Why Think of Alt-Text

younger. My disability affects my walking so I move with a slight • Writing Exercise 2:

Section 4: Going Forward

interesting to think about regardless. • Who This Is For

Section 4: Going Forward

→ Aubree Penney → • Writing Exercise 2:

→ Kinetic Light • Access Note

Section 4: Going Forward

certainly, if you are part of an organization or institution, you • Writing Exercise 2:

different opinions about how to approach alt-text. So take all of

This workbook consists of: • Who This Is For

however you like. • Writing Exercise 2:

Section 4: Going Forward

→ A partner • Who This Is For

you prefer! • Why Think of Alt-Text

these out or gather them on a computer/phone/tablet. • Writing Exercise 2:

Section 4: Going Forward

Reading Artists For Alt-Text

Section 4: Going Forward

This is how alt-text functions as a non-visual alternative to • Writing Exercise 2:

Section 4: Going Forward

You may be able to influence the accessibility practices where

Section 4: Going Forward

esting task. • Why Think of Alt-Text

Section 4: Going Forward

ple, movie theaters may offer headsets for audio description.

Section 4: Going Forward

is often not possible for an artist to take on the role of access

in marketing or promotional materials. These images usually • Writing Exercise 2:

practices and whether or not they have a place or infrastructure

Framing alt-text as a type of poetry allows us to approach it • Who This Is For

poetic potential. • Why Think of Alt-Text

interested in experimentation for experimentation’s sake — • Why Think of Alt-Text

Section 4: Going Forward

as describers. • Writing Exercise 2:

you use to describe.

→ Dealth Valley National Park • Who This Is For

→ Madison Zalopany Section 3: Practice

A screenshot of me being very impressed by my nephew • Writing Exercise 2:

→ Justin Allen Section 4: Going Forward

was dressed. Like someone at a fancy-dress party. flakes of

Section 4: Going Forward

Practice Artists For Alt-Text

Section 4: Going Forward

• Writing Exercise 1: Warm-Up • Who This Is For

than doing so collaboratively. We suggest this because it is • Writing Exercise 2:

Section 4: Going Forward

Section 4: Going Forward

produces quality descriptions. Trying to be an objective writer • Writing Exercise 2:

Section 4: Going Forward

ways? • Who This Is For

Section 4: Going Forward

jargon, slang, shorthand, and vocabulary is relevant? • Why Think of Alt-Text

ship and process is something to explore. Depending on the • Writing Exercise 2:

→ “X reminds me of...” • Who This Is For

Section 4: Going Forward