All Inclusive: Championing Accessible Museums - Museums Association

Conference 2024: The Joy of Museums booking open now – Book before 31 March 2024 for a 10% discount

Conference 2024: The Joy of Museums booking open now – Book before 31 March 2024 for a 10% discount

All Inclusive: Championing Accessible Museums

08 May 2024, 1000-1500
Online, Zoom

Image: National Museums Scotland

Ableism – prioritising the needs of non-disabled people over disabled people – remains pervasive across the museum sector. Disabled people still face barriers in our buildings, policies and structures, and are chronically unrepresented in our workforce and collections.

All Inclusive is our annual one-day conference exploring how museums can become anti-ableist in everything that they do. Anti-ableism recognises abled privilege and actively looks to challenge and dismantle it through theory, actions and practices.  

Through provocations, case studies and panel discussions, the event explores what an anti-ableist museum might look like in practice.

We will elevate the perspectives of D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people as part of this event.

Programme highlights:

  • An interactive and practical discussion on how to turn advocacy into organizational change
  • A panel of disabled museum workers share what it’s like to be disabled in the sector – and what museums can do to support wellbeing and access in the workplace
  • Practical advice on low-cost ways for small museums to become more anti-ableist
  • Best practice guidance on creating inclusive learning programmes
  • How to take an anti-ableist approach to creating exhibitions

Speakers

Michelle Moubarak, Director, Beaney Museum
Katy Ashton, Director, People’s History Museum
Nicola Kelly, Development Officer, Dylan Thomas Centre
Sam Bowen, SEND in Museums
Aimee Fletcher, PhD Researcher, the University of Glasgow,
Shikha Dwivedi, Administration and Reporting Assistant, Kettle’s Yard
Amy Thraves-Connor, Curating for Change Fellow, National Railway Museum
Jenny Hill, Lead Exhibition Curator, Craven Museum in Skipton
Paul Morrow, Co-author of the Cultural Inclusion Manifesto, author of the Cultural Inclusion for Young People with SEND, Lead Practitioner of the Creative Arts at Westminster Special Schools
Vicky Hope-Walker, Chief Executive Officer, National Paralympic Heritage Centre

We aim to present a diverse range of speakers from across the UK and internationally at our one-day conferences. If you are interested in speaking at one of our events, or have a project you’d like to see explored, please tell us more by emailing the Events Team.

Programme

Expand all
1000-1010
Chair Welcome

Sam Bowen, SEND in Museums, opens the event.

1010-1100
Panel discussion: turning advocacy into organizational change

An interactive panel discussion exploring the importance of advocacy within museums and how this can lead to organisational change.

With:

Michelle Moubarak, Director, Beaney Museum
Katy Ashton, Director, People’s History Museum
Nicola Kelly, Development Officer, Dylan Thomas Centre

Final panelist to be confirmed.

1100-1110
Comfort break

A 10 minute comfort break.

1110-1200
Panel discussion: wellbeing and disability in workforce

What can museums do to not only recruit disabled staff and volunteers but also ensure their working environments promote wellbeing and progression? Our panel will share their experiences of being disabled and working in museums.

With:

Aimee Fletcher, PhD Researcher, the University of Glasgow,
Shikha Dwivedi, Administration and Reporting Assistant, Kettle’s Yard

More panelists to be confirmed in due course.

1200-1245
Lunch break

A 45 minute lunch break.

1255-1315
Putting access at the heart small museums

Jenny Hill, Lead Exhibition Curator, Craven Museum in Skipton, shares practical advice on the steps it took during a redevelopment to make its spaces more accessible – and how it has now embedded an inclusive approach and the simple steps it’s taken that lead to being awarded the Family Friendly Museum Award in 2023 for outstanding work to welcome children and families.

1315-1335
Creating accessible learning programmes

Paul Morrow, Co-author of the Cultural Inclusion Manifesto, author of the Cultural Inclusion for Young People with SEND, Lead Practitioner of the Creative Arts at Westminster Special Schools, looks at how museums can work with schools to develop bespoke or adapted learning programmes for SEND children, adults and families.

1335-1345
Comfort break

A 10 minute comfort break.

1345-1405
Diversifying, managing and funding workforces

Vicky Hope-Walker, Chief Executive Officer, National Paralympic Heritage Centre, shares the lessons from recent work to diversify its recruitment processes for paid staff, volunteers and work placements.

1405-1425
An anti-ableist approach to exhibitions

Go as You Please is a temporary exhibition at the National Railway Museum exploring rail travel from the perspectives of people with lived experience of D/deafness, disability and neurodivergence. Amy Thraves-Connor reflects on the experience of developing the exhibition during her time as a Curating For Change Fellow at the museum.

1425-1455
Q&A with afternoon speakers

Put your questions to Jenny Hill, Paul Morrow, Vicky Hope-Walker and Amy Thraves-Conner.

Please note that this event will be recorded and available exclusively to delegates for three months. After that time, it will be made available to members on the Museums Association website.

Follow this event on X: #MuseumAccessibility

Event fees

Concessionary Member – £35
Member (Essential, Full, Institutional and Commercial members) – £45
Non-member – £65

Not a member? Join today and pay a discounted price for this event as well as receiving lots of other great benefits.

Inclusive event places

The Benevolent Fund will provide five free places to this event to individual members who face barriers due to ethnicity, disability, socio-economic background, and gender identity or sexual orientation (LGBTQ).

These free places are part of our wider work towards creating a more inclusive sector. We will also support any accessibility requests such as provision of British Sign Language (BSL), audio description or closed captioning. The deadline to apply for an Inclusive Place is 12 noon on 24 April 2024.

Important booking information

Please sign in and check the email address on your profile before booking. Your confirmation and joining instruction emails will go to the email address you use to log in to the website. 

If you create a new record with a different email address your membership will not be recognised and you will be charged the incorrect fee. You can check and change your email address before booking.

Event details
Date 08 May 2024
Time 1000-1500
Location Online
Zoom

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