Fourteenth International Conference on the Inclusive Museum

Abstract

For years, museums have been developing programmes that improve access for a wider range of visitors. But by labelling these offers as ‘special interest’, do we run the risk of maintaining an ‘us and them’ attitude even amidst such important inclusive work? This paper presents the policy shift within the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent towards a more inclusive approach. Over the last five years, we’ve developed offers with and for families, visitors with dementia, visually and auditorily impaired art lovers, youth, and non-native speaking newcomers. But simultaneously we’ve also appealed to move these out of their ‘special interest’ boxes. The paper presents how this took (and is taking) shape. Several offers that were available on request are now being integrated into the permanent presentation, allowing visitors to approach the collection on their own terms and inviting them to step into someone else’s shoes. The galleries have been vetted by an accessibility focus group, and temporary focused projects now start explicitly with the aim of also translating them into a permanent offer that’s accessible to wider audiences. Finally, close discussion with collection and exhibition teams led to rewriting gallery texts, so that multiple viewpoints are now integrated. In short, while the work is far from finished, the museum is moving away from viewing certain visitors as ‘specialty groups’, and towards more inclusively viewing each individual visitor as someone with their own special needs, which have to be considered.