“Access is part of everything we do”
Colchester Museums in the UK and the Metropolitan Museum in the USA are model institutions as regards access. Though both still have much to do.
“Access is one of our most important priorities and we need to be passionate about the task” according to Sophie Weaver who is Access Officer at the Colchester Museums which comprises four municipal museums in Colchester in the UK.
Concrete examples of Sophie Weaver’s efforts can be seen everywhere in the four museums, the Hollytrees Museum, Castle Museum, Natural History Museum and Tymperleys Clock Museum. For example, there are video screens providing information in sign language, transcriptions of sound illustrations and open displays that enable visitors to feel objects and not just look at them. The large private house known as Hollytrees was built in 1718 and contains a museum devoted to domestic life in the region two hundred years ago. After much reflection and consideration of architectural drawings it proved possible to install a lift without destroying the Georgian character of the house. “One must not give up at the first obstacle”, Sophie Weaver explains.
Expert committee at the core
The core of the work of improving access is a committee of experts which includes eight people with various types of disabilities. The committee meets once a month to evaluate all current productions. These may be new exhibitions, printed materials, a web production or an event. The committee is already involved at the planning stage.
“In this way we can ensure that everything works as well as possible without having to make changes at the end. This is the most cost-effective way of working.”
The committee also holds quarterly access meeting with all the managers at the museums in order to evaluate the long-term work. “One needs to keep the access issue topical all the time. This is part of what we do.”
Began at the millennium in 2000
The Colchester Museums started working with access in a structured fashion at the start of the new century. But at the famous Metropolitan Museum in New York they have been working on access since the mid 1970s, Access Coordinator Rebecca McGinnis explains. “A museum educator started with sign language interpretation when we had lectures at the museum. At the same time we acquired a number of volunteers who guided visitors using sign language. The same museum educator started working on our ‘touch collection’: small objects that one can touch and handle. The objects are part of our permanent collections but we often lend them to schools and other educational establishments. We also have small touring exhibitions of items that one can touch. “It was in the 1970s that concern about access started to develop seriously. Educators’ responsibility for seeing that exhibitions are accessible was put in writing at the time.”
No expert committee at the Metropolitan
There is no expert committee of the same type as in Colchester at the Metropolitan. At such a large institution it is difficult to maintain the same level of ambition everywhere, Rebecca McGinnis points out.
“Coordination is not always as good as it ought to be. We produce between 30 and 40 exhibitions a year. There is always a lot going on and we cannot be involved in every exhibition team. But in the case of renovations and alterations to the premises we follow the process all the way through. A year and a half ago we opened our new education centre and in that project we were closely involved with the architects. With such a large project we were able to have quite a lot of influence. “We are now looking at rebuilding the toilets. Not such a glamorous project but it needs doing.”
Involving five or six departments
Concretely, the Metropolitan organizes events specially adapted for people with various disabilities, but we are also concerned with adapting exhibitions in the museum, sign-language interpreting, guided tours where one can touch objects, ensuring that wheelchairs are available, etc. The department also produces large-print brochures for all the exhibitions. “Every production that we undertake involves five or six different departments at the museum. One needs to set the ball rolling in order to achieve exhibitions that do not exclude people.”
Attitude is a prime factor
The attitude of the staff is one of the main factors determining whether visitors feel welcome at the museum in Rebecca McGinnis’ experience. One may not be able to make all the parts of the building optimally adapted to every visitor’s needs. Especially if one is dealing with a building that one cannot alter because of its historical value. In such cases, the way one is greeted by the staff can determine whether the visit is a success or not. A supporting arm or someone who accompanies one and describes what one cannot experience through one’s own senses.
A more complex problem is how one can work aesthetically to create an accessible exhibition. How does one adapt light, sound and visual effects so that they create an experience that is meaningful for as many people as possible? At the Colchester Museums every new exhibition project is preceded by a meeting with the access committee. The designer of the exhibition always attends this meeting.
Choice of colours is important
The choice of colours used in an exhibition is very important, Sophie Weaver explains. One needs to work with contrasts. But one also needs to be careful with sound installations, she notes. Having too many sound installations in a limited space creates problems for many people with hearing difficulties.
“It is a matter of including all the senses. There should be something to listen to, something to read, something to be enjoyed visually and something that one can handle. We try to produce tactile replicas and shall also begin to work with sound descriptions of items for visitors with limited or no vision. Every new exhibition we produce is supplied with large-print text, sound descriptions and, if possible, screens with sign language. If we cannot achieve all this, we have specially guided visits where the exhibition is explained to visually disabled people. In the same fashion, we want to have sign-language guides if we are not able to include sign language on video screens.
Video screens for all visitors
Sophie and her colleagues have succeeded in installing video screens with speech, sign language on video and subtitles just about everywhere at the Castle Museum in Colchester. The screens can be used by almost all visitors.
“We also have a self-guided tour of the museum with nine ‘discovery points’. There are objects that visitors can handle and headphones with information. We are also planning to offer visitors media players with sign language.”
But there are things that one can do that do not involve technology. Hollytrees is what Sophie Weaver calls a “hands-on” museum. “Large parts of the exhibition are open so that people can handle what is being shown. And wherever there are sound illustrations we have written transcriptions alongside. This was new when we started but now is our lowest information level.”
Universal design
Rebecca McGinnis at the Metropolitan Museum likes to use the expression “universal design” – design that everyone can use. “One simple trick is to have sloping floors in the displays. This makes them easier to see for people in wheelchairs or who are short. Similarly, it is important to have the explanatory texts at the right angle. If they are laid flat it is difficult for people who are short to read them.
Much in-house expertise
Both for the Colchester Museums and the Metropolitan Museum, ensuring access is greatly aided by the fact that there is much in-house expertise. This means that one does not have to begin at the beginning for every new project. Unfortunately, the number of professionals in the exhibition sector who are themselves disabled in some way is very small. Sophie’s interpretation is that these groups in society can find it difficult to find any sort of employment. “Government legislation in the UK is changing this but the policy takes time to bear fruit.”
The Colchester Museums are the first institution to welcome an intern with a disability within the framework of the national “Diversify” programme. For a number of years this programme has had its focus on organizing internships for people with an immigrant background, Sophie Weaver explains. “But the government has now realized that people with disabilities are also underrepresented in the museum sector.”
Part of the core activities
Long-term undertakings and a dedicated budget are key factors for successfully promoting access. This is Sophie Weaver’s most important message. “All the members of our expert committee receive a fee. And access is part of our core activities and is always a priority cost according to our director Peter Berridge. “This can be difficult when one has a limited budget and other institutions have different priorities. But we have committed ourselves to this.”
Mårten Janson
Six points for successfully promoting access
Work on promoting access must be part of the institution’s core activities. And it needs financing.
Concentrate on what you can do rather than what you can’t. If you cannot afford sign-language interpretation, for example, you can at least make transcriptions.
The attitude of the staff is the most important factor determining whether visitors feel welcome at the museum. Museums that cannot afford major alterations to the buildings can at least ensure that they have staff who willingly help people with disabilities.
Consult the target groups: in this case those with disabilities.
Integrate the issue into the entire organization. One needs constantly to provide the staff with feedback on access matters.
Cooperate with the marketing department – it is important that people in general are aware of how the institution operates.