C'est en 1990 que le Service des musees, des arts et des archives du Conseil du comte du Leic... more C'est en 1990 que le Service des musees, des arts et des archives du Conseil du comte du Leicestershire a confie a Diana Finlay le premier poste de responsable de l'action communautaire qui ait ete cree au Royaume-Uni. Elle a pour tâche de rendre les musees plus accessibles a des publics trop souvent delaisses — handicapes, groupes defavorises, personnes âgees, notamment — et mieux a meme de repondre a leurs besoins. Elle est actuellement vice-presidente de la Museums and Galleries Disabilities Association (Association pour la prise en compte des handicapes dans les musees et les galeries d'exposition).
Abstract This article describes and analyzes a cross-border, “simultaneous exhibition” collaborat... more Abstract This article describes and analyzes a cross-border, “simultaneous exhibition” collaborative project in six post-conflict western Balkan countries. Through a process of collaboration, active learning, and audience development, professional and personal trust developed among eleven museums. Previously identified barriers were overcome and expectations of the original project were surpassed leading to a shared joint-platform, visible collaboration, and an international profile. The case study provides a model for museum collaboration and trust-building among different organisations.
Abstract This article describes and analyzes a cross-border, "simultaneous exhibition" ... more Abstract This article describes and analyzes a cross-border, "simultaneous exhibition" collaborative project in six post-conflict western Balkan countries. Through a process of collaboration, active learning, and audience development, professional and personal trust developed among eleven museums. Previously identified barriers were overcome and expectations of the original project were surpassed leading to a shared joint-platform, visible collaboration, and an international profile. The case study provides a model for museum collaboration and trust-building among different organisations.
This article is based on questionnaire surveys relating to responses to disability in museums in ... more This article is based on questionnaire surveys relating to responses to disability in museums in the United Kingdom and the United States, undertaken as part of a broader research enquiry. Within the context of anti-discrimination legislation, the issue of attitude is a key factor affecting response. However, underlying attitudes are difficult to identify, particularly within the imperatives of a dominant paradigm of inclusion. The approach taken was to employ a factor analysis which allows for clusters of responses to emerge from data, which in turn can be interpreted as models or approaches based on sets of attitudes. The factor analysis revealed five clusters. Interpreting these clusters shows that it is possible to identify relationships between some attitudes and beliefs that underpin response to disability within museums. The findings show that despite anti-discrimination legislation and efforts by museums to improve access, the issue of attitude remains a key barrier to genuine inclusion for deaf and disabled people.
This briefing paper reviews a twelve-month traveling exhibition on African peace cultures in Keny... more This briefing paper reviews a twelve-month traveling exhibition on African peace cultures in Kenya developed by the Kenyan organization Community Peace Museums Heritage Foundation and the Swedish NGO Cultural Heritage without Borders. The exhibition, Journeys of Peace, traveled to several rural venues and created spaces for dialogue and encounter between peoples and communities. This briefing paper outlines the background to and the creation of the exhibition and examines the main features that contributed to the success of the project. The paper describes the approaches used and assesses the impact of Journeys of Peace. An important question in the paper is how the approach of Journeys of Peace could be refined and developed. The lessons of Journeys of Peace could be useful for other organizations seeking to use a creative peacebuilding approach.
Today, confronted by a difficult political and economic climate, it is hard to see how museums an... more Today, confronted by a difficult political and economic climate, it is hard to see how museums and heritage organisations might have a role to play in healing and international peacebuilding; yet this chapter is written from the belief that they have. As a practitioner who since 2007 has worked predominantly in the field of international development and peacebuilding through cultural heritage, I focus on areas of specific interest that represent some of the crossover between peacebuilding and museums and outline options of a possible future direction for museums of all types. This reflects a longstanding academic interest in issues around exclusion, diversity and community engagement, here applied to practice in an international context. It also reflects a reaction to a growing sense of unease that internationalism and peacebuilding are being left to the agents of official heritage – national museums, international agencies such as ICOM and UNESCO and Cultural Councils – and that ot...
This article considers the position of deaf and disabled people within the museum and heritage se... more This article considers the position of deaf and disabled people within the museum and heritage sectors of the Nordic countries. Recent approaches to access for deaf and disabled people have been rooted in models from the USA and the UK, and less attention has been given to countries with a welfare model approach. The article outlines the features of the welfare approach and the position of deaf and disabled people. It considers approaches to disability and access issues through both case studies and through official policy publications. It argues that although the economic position of disabled people is relatively good, access to cultural heritage remains patchy and uninteresting. Museums approach this as a question of physical access rather than engaging in more creative responses based on dialogue and partnership. It concludes that museums have some way to go before they will be truly accessible for deaf and disabled people.
C'est en 1990 que le Service des musees, des arts et des archives du Conseil du comte du Leic... more C'est en 1990 que le Service des musees, des arts et des archives du Conseil du comte du Leicestershire a confie a Diana Finlay le premier poste de responsable de l'action communautaire qui ait ete cree au Royaume-Uni. Elle a pour tâche de rendre les musees plus accessibles a des publics trop souvent delaisses — handicapes, groupes defavorises, personnes âgees, notamment — et mieux a meme de repondre a leurs besoins. Elle est actuellement vice-presidente de la Museums and Galleries Disabilities Association (Association pour la prise en compte des handicapes dans les musees et les galeries d'exposition).
Abstract This article describes and analyzes a cross-border, “simultaneous exhibition” collaborat... more Abstract This article describes and analyzes a cross-border, “simultaneous exhibition” collaborative project in six post-conflict western Balkan countries. Through a process of collaboration, active learning, and audience development, professional and personal trust developed among eleven museums. Previously identified barriers were overcome and expectations of the original project were surpassed leading to a shared joint-platform, visible collaboration, and an international profile. The case study provides a model for museum collaboration and trust-building among different organisations.
Abstract This article describes and analyzes a cross-border, "simultaneous exhibition" ... more Abstract This article describes and analyzes a cross-border, "simultaneous exhibition" collaborative project in six post-conflict western Balkan countries. Through a process of collaboration, active learning, and audience development, professional and personal trust developed among eleven museums. Previously identified barriers were overcome and expectations of the original project were surpassed leading to a shared joint-platform, visible collaboration, and an international profile. The case study provides a model for museum collaboration and trust-building among different organisations.
This article is based on questionnaire surveys relating to responses to disability in museums in ... more This article is based on questionnaire surveys relating to responses to disability in museums in the United Kingdom and the United States, undertaken as part of a broader research enquiry. Within the context of anti-discrimination legislation, the issue of attitude is a key factor affecting response. However, underlying attitudes are difficult to identify, particularly within the imperatives of a dominant paradigm of inclusion. The approach taken was to employ a factor analysis which allows for clusters of responses to emerge from data, which in turn can be interpreted as models or approaches based on sets of attitudes. The factor analysis revealed five clusters. Interpreting these clusters shows that it is possible to identify relationships between some attitudes and beliefs that underpin response to disability within museums. The findings show that despite anti-discrimination legislation and efforts by museums to improve access, the issue of attitude remains a key barrier to genuine inclusion for deaf and disabled people.
This briefing paper reviews a twelve-month traveling exhibition on African peace cultures in Keny... more This briefing paper reviews a twelve-month traveling exhibition on African peace cultures in Kenya developed by the Kenyan organization Community Peace Museums Heritage Foundation and the Swedish NGO Cultural Heritage without Borders. The exhibition, Journeys of Peace, traveled to several rural venues and created spaces for dialogue and encounter between peoples and communities. This briefing paper outlines the background to and the creation of the exhibition and examines the main features that contributed to the success of the project. The paper describes the approaches used and assesses the impact of Journeys of Peace. An important question in the paper is how the approach of Journeys of Peace could be refined and developed. The lessons of Journeys of Peace could be useful for other organizations seeking to use a creative peacebuilding approach.
Today, confronted by a difficult political and economic climate, it is hard to see how museums an... more Today, confronted by a difficult political and economic climate, it is hard to see how museums and heritage organisations might have a role to play in healing and international peacebuilding; yet this chapter is written from the belief that they have. As a practitioner who since 2007 has worked predominantly in the field of international development and peacebuilding through cultural heritage, I focus on areas of specific interest that represent some of the crossover between peacebuilding and museums and outline options of a possible future direction for museums of all types. This reflects a longstanding academic interest in issues around exclusion, diversity and community engagement, here applied to practice in an international context. It also reflects a reaction to a growing sense of unease that internationalism and peacebuilding are being left to the agents of official heritage – national museums, international agencies such as ICOM and UNESCO and Cultural Councils – and that ot...
This article considers the position of deaf and disabled people within the museum and heritage se... more This article considers the position of deaf and disabled people within the museum and heritage sectors of the Nordic countries. Recent approaches to access for deaf and disabled people have been rooted in models from the USA and the UK, and less attention has been given to countries with a welfare model approach. The article outlines the features of the welfare approach and the position of deaf and disabled people. It considers approaches to disability and access issues through both case studies and through official policy publications. It argues that although the economic position of disabled people is relatively good, access to cultural heritage remains patchy and uninteresting. Museums approach this as a question of physical access rather than engaging in more creative responses based on dialogue and partnership. It concludes that museums have some way to go before they will be truly accessible for deaf and disabled people.
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Papers by Diana Walters