Workshops
Accessibility Framework for Museums: A Crash Course by the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Workshop Presentation Cathelijne van den Berg-Denekamp
More and more museums take the responsibility to make their museums accessible for people with a disability. But how do you develop policies about accessibility? How can we take away all the barriers of the museum so that everybody feels welcome and can visit the museum independently and equally. And how do we get accessibility in the DNA of the staff of every level within the organization? The Rijksmuseum hired an accessibility manager, Cathelijne Denekamp, two years ago. In this workshop, Cathelijne shares insights of an accessibility framework, based on research from the University of Leiden, which helped her add a basis of accessibility in the museum for different target groups (people with are blind or low vision, people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people who have a mobile disability, and people who are sensory sensitive). It happened quickly and solidly - together with the audiences. She shares learnings. This framework helps to set a good basis on accessibility for every museum, big or small. In the workshop you will work with the framework for your own museum.
Curatorial Work for Social Justice: Connecting Collections and Visitors
Workshop Presentation Elena Gonzales
The goal of the session will be for participants to build practices together that will enhance their ability to work for social justice through the medium of curatorial work and exhibitions. Participants will work together to understand their institutions according to a typology that relates curatorial goals and other museological practices such as the way the museum relates to the visitor, governance, and curatorial strategies. We will examine a range of techniques and constellations of curatorial interventions on such topics as building empathy and solidarity, forging long lasting memories, and inspiring action in visitors. Finally, participants will use the tools from the session to design and develop new solutions to ongoing challenges at their institutions.
