Museum Inclusion, Starr

The process of research is life-changing.  

When I began this project, my understanding of the social responsibility of museums was based on my studies in the Museum Program in theory, my experiences as a visitor to cultural institutions, and what I learned through internship opportunities. 

For the work of this thesis, I have spent the past several months developing a greater understanding to the systems which influence museum accessibility practices, and the history of how efforts have been implemented over time. While, the process of research is stressful, I am so lucky to be studying something which I am passionate about, and consider to be incredibly important to the development of the museum field.

Nina Simon, 2015. MuseumNext Presentation, "Fighting for Inclusion." 

In 2015, museum professionals gathered for the annual conference, MuseumNext, the topic of the several-day workshop: inclusion. Director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, Nina Simon, presented "Fighting for Inclusion" the story of how the Museum of Art & History changed its practice to work towards becoming more inclusive to its diverse community. In her presentation, Simon shows the following slide, a quotation from a trustee in response to the Museum's intention to become inclusive and empowering for the community.[1]

It is perspectives like this which challenge the work that my thesis argues for. This statement articulates, to me, a "call to action" for museum professionals advocating for proactive inclusion efforts within cultural institutions. 

The scope of this thesis has evolved radically since its beginning. What started as research focusing on visitors with disabilities and their experiences within museums has changed to looking at the responsibility of museums to their communities, and how diverse visitors are made to feel welcome and included in spaces that may have, at one time, been exclusionary. 

Through this process, my notions of what access, inclusion, and civic-centered museums mean are constantly challenged and changing. At the same time, it has been inspirational to discover how many museum theorists have argued, in their own way, at their own time, for the same basic ideals which this thesis aims to further.

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[1] Nina Simon. “Fighting for Inclusion.” Museum 2.0, September 23, 2015.