Diversity and Inclusion in Museums

 

I wanted to focus on diversity and inclusion in museums. “Researchers in the United States, United Kingdom and Israel found empirical evidence that museums in general lag behind other social institutions in regards to accommodating people living with disabilities such as wheelchair users, the visually challenged, and hearing impaired.” Lots of museums claim DEAI. Diversity, equity, accessibility ,inclusion and anti-racism. Although they claim it, most lack these characteristics on a daily basis. All around the world, more and more museums participate in International Museum Day. Last year, more than 37,000 museums participated in the event in about 158 countries and territories. A short message from the president:  “The objective of International Museum Day is to raise awareness on the fact that, “museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples”. Organized each year on and around 18 May, the events and activities planned to celebrate International Museum Day can last a day, a weekend or a whole week.” A main issue behind accessibility issues is the lack of money. I figured if museums held fundraised events open to the public taking optional donations (it's not necessary but greatly appreciated) and use that money to make the museum accessible to everyone. I like the idea of having an International Museum Day but it's kind of like celebrating certain cultures around their national month or holiday. We need to fix this by making more events or workshops for those different cultures that are lacking in representation through artworks and audiences. This is one of the main things we learn about in class so I’m sure I can connect this issue to a lot of readings or topics discussed in class. 

https://www.museumnext.com/article/making-museums-accessible-to-those-with-disabilities/

https://imd.icom.museum/international-museum-day-2023-presidents-message/