"Accessibility": Looking Forward, Ruth Starr

I am continuing to focus my research for this project as the intersection between three, historically, distinct disciplines: museum accessibility practices, contemporary issues in Disability Studies, and psychological assessment methodologies for analyzing biases and implicit attitudes. During the course of our intersession break, I am intending to delve further into researching these three topics so that I can begin to formulate the introductory framework, and literature reviews for the paper. 

Whitney Museum of American Art, 2015

While the primary focus of my work at the beginning of the semester focused on accessibility efforts specifically related to engaging visitors with disabilities, the dialogues, and my own understanding of accessibility is constantly being challenged (in an incredible way) and broadened through new experiences. Before moving to its new space, the Whitney Museum of American Art held public forums to discuss how to create a safe and welcoming space for visitors from all walks of life. Now, the "Access" efforts in many museums are broadening - a pattern which we have seen, as this thesis will argue, throughout the evolution of museums as public spaces. Something that I'm continuing to be interested in, as I am learning new perspectives and experiences, is the definition of "accessibility" and the goal of what "accessibility in museums" means.

During intersession, in addition to continuing to develop more research from the resources I've already collected, I'm hoping to begin to incorporate the perspectives of current practitioners in the field for their input on the project.