Posts
Accessibility
Content Warnings in Museums and Galleries: Taking a Proactive Approach
I began writing and speaking about the need for trauma-informed practices in museums several years ago, and while I haven’t seen any big changes in the time since, I have seen small shifts …
Creating Access, Inclusion, and Belonging through Language
This is a recorded session from the 2024 AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo. Panelists in this session share how they incorporate Spanish language into visitor and staff experiences. …
Creating Restorative Moments at Woodland Park Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo’s Hope & Healing offers uplifting community experiences for people facing life-altering challenges. This article originally appeared in Museum magazine’s May/June 2024 …
Faces of Baltimore Museums: Rachel Leeds
Have you heard about AAM 2024 in Baltimore this month? (We hope so—we’re doing our best!) If so, you might have seen one of our ads for this year’s edition, featuring a lovely …
Extending the Invitation: Strategies for Welcoming Visitors and Reducing Barriers to Access
In the aftermath of the pandemic and amidst ongoing calls for museums to become more inclusive and attuned to community needs, many institutions are still seeking ways to recover from …
Neurodivergent Needs: A Q&A with ADDitude Magazine
If museums want to be welcoming and accessible, one of the areas they must consider is neurodiversity. How do the ways we process information and stimuli differ from person to person, and …
Out of Sight: How Museums Can Harness the Blind Perspective to Enrich Visitor Experiences
Do blind people enjoy visiting museums? Yes and no. Cheryl Fogle-Hatch and Don Winiecki captured this complicated reality in 2020, when they conducted a survey of blind adults discussing …
Disrupting Museum Behavior: An Exploration of the Art Institute of Chicago’s “Cripping the Galleries”
On a hot Sunday afternoon, Sydney Erlikh, seated in a wheelchair, leaned against Maypril Krukowski, a woman with glasses seated on a bench. Sounds of church bells, shuffling footsteps, and …
3 Trauma-Informed Practices for Museums to Follow
Earlier this year, I presented at MuseumNext’s Museums, Health, and Wellbeing Summit about what we risk by not integrating trauma-informed practices and values into our work. In my talk, I …
4 Ideas to Create Linguistic Accessibility at Museums
Though the word “accessibility” has often been equated with giving access to those with disabilities, it can also mean something broader. Accessibility means looking at everything we create …
Building Community and Connection: Guidelines for Museum Educators Teaching Memory Care Programs
In the words of renowned museum educator and empathy expert Elif Gokcigdem, “Museums are safe, informal learning spaces, uniquely equipped to help audiences explore and imagine our human …
Different by Design: A New, Inclusive Framework for Accessible Museum Exhibitions
In January 2020, I authored a post for the Alliance Blog about speechless: different by design, an exhibition that I curated for the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) and the High Museum of Art in …
Related Professional Networks
Upcoming Events
Next Practices: Discussions on the Future of Interpretation
Event Date:
Presented by:
American Association for State and Local History
Future Chat: Coping with Climate Risk
Event Date:
Presented by:
American Alliance of Museums
Safeguarding Collections
Event Date:
Presented by:
FAIC Connecting to Collections Care
Latest Stories from AAM
Mental Health for All
Category:
Center for the Future Of Museums Blog
This is an excerpt from TrendsWatch: Museums as Community Infrastructure. The full report is available as a free PDF download. “What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and …
Urgent – Oppose Drastic House Funding Cuts to IMLS
Category:
Advocacy Alert
Advocacy Alert – July 19, 2024 In this Alliance Advocacy Alert: URGENT! Oppose Drastic House Funding Cuts to IMLS #InviteCongress 2024: Use Our How-To Guide to Participate Civic …
Creating Inclusive Tours: Five Strategies for Engaging English Learning Visitors in Museums
Category:
Alliance Blog
If working at a big art museum taught me one thing, it is how unexpectedly diverse visitor groups can be, both culturally and linguistically. As a museum educator with a thick accent …