Dialogue in the Dark

At Dialogue Museum guests are led through a series of ordinary situations in total darkness by a blind guide. Without eyesight these ‘ordinary’ situations become extraordinary. Guests have to rely on other senses to negotiate the obstacles of the everyday. After visiting this exhibition – Dialogue in the Dark – guests can have ‘dinner in the dark’ where blind waiters serve guests in total darkness.

Dialogue in the Dark is the brainchild of Andreas Heinecke, a social
entrepreneur who has for some two decades been tackling issues of disability and marginalisation. Heinecke established Dialogue Social Enterprise which has franchised out a number of initiatives including Dialogue Museum, and Dialogue in Silence – where deaf people provide an insight into non-verbal communication.

Dialogue Social Enterprise and its associated franchisees
have to date had exhibitions in 25 countries, with over six million visitors worldwide and employed over 6,000 blind or visually impaired people.

Dialogue Museum was supported by Munich based BonVenture, a venture philanthropy organisation which funds commercial and non-profit organisations with a social, ethical or environmental purpose in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. BonVenture provides performance based finance and strategic support to help start-up and grow social purpose organisations. Key objectives are social impact and financial sustainability. BonVenture aims to invest a100,000 – a750,000 per project, together with co-investors, through equity, mezzanine financing, and loans and also provides nonfinancial services and support through its networks.