The Museum Accessibility Spectrum

Alison F. Eardley is an interdisciplinary researcher, trained in cognitive psychology (and employed in a Social Sciences School at the University of Westminster, London, UK). Building on her previous work on imagery, imagination and spatial processing in congenitally totally blind people and the sighted, Alison’s work is now focused on access, inclusion, interpretation and evaluation within the museum sector. Vanessa E. Jones has a background in art history and museum education and has extensive expertise in access and inclusion. As the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s Access Programs Manager since 2015, she has advocated for accessibility and led the development of programs and initiatives to enhance the experience of all visitors, including those with disabilities.

List of figures; List of contributors; Section 1 – Introduction: Chapter 1: The Museum Accessibility Spectrum: recognising the multidimensional access needs of all museum audiences; Chapter 2: Unpicking ableism and disablism in museums: Why access should be for all; Section 2 – Disability Gain: Chapter 3: Feeling Our Way: Anti-Ableist Provocations for the Future of Inclusive Design in Museums; Chapter 4: Developing the Calm Room: A Journey of Creating an Accessible Space for Inclusion and Well-being; Chapter 5: French Nineteenth-Century Art Writing as Audio Description: the case of Edouard Manet; Chapter 6: Seeing the Deaf Visitor: Improving Accessibility Through a Critical Studies Lens; Chapter 7: Blundering into Sensorial Conversation; Section 3: Social and Cultural Inclusion: Chapter 8: Social and cultural barriers to inclusion: class and race at the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood; Chapter 9: Going Through the Portal: Permeable Walls and Immersive Community Engagements rooted in Disability Justice; Chapter 10: What is a museum? Reframing the power dynamic between museums and audiences ; Chapter 11: Stepping Aside: A reflection on how Museums can transfer power to communities, open up collections, and increase access through the creation of memory boxes; Chapter 12: The Sacred Cave of Kamukuwaká: Enabling Digital Futures for Indigenous Cultural Heritage in the Amazonian Xingu; Section 4: Agents of Social Change: Chapter 13: No laughing matter? Reimagining the statuette of a ‘comic’ actor with dwarfism at the British Museum; Chapter 14: Curating for Change: How can D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent curators drive change in museums in terms of cultural representation and inclusive interpretation?; Chapter 15: Inclusive Design and Accessibility: A Methodology of Perpetual Evolution and Innovation; Chapter 16: Cultural Inclusion in Times of Crisis: Old and New Traumas; Chapter 17: Museums for Equality: Combating Prejudice, Promoting Human Rights and Practices of Social Inclusion in Egypt’s Museums; Chapter 18: Social inclusion, cultural participation and public ruptures at Iziko South African National Gallery: A look at Our Lady and Art of Disruption exhibitions. Section 5: Museum Futures: Instigators of change: Museums as inclusive, accessible, equitable, participatory hubs; Acknowledgements; Index.