Early Monday morning, two other museum staff and I travelled to Palmerston North for a conference on Museums of Inclusion: He Waka Eke Noa, looking at ways to make our institutions not only accessible to all, but also welcoming and relevant.
Warmly received by the local hapu of Rangitane, we heard from a range of speakers about the many different types of barriers that continue to exclude people from museums: from barriers to even entering the museum building, such as entry fees, to barriers that can make it physically difficult to navigate the museum, such as steps.
There was rich discussion about cultural inclusion (and exclusion), looking at which stories are told, from whose perspective and to which audiences. Professor Ngahuia Te Awekotuku referred back to the title of the conference, asking "whose waka is it? Who steers the waka, and who decides if full inclusion has been reached?"
We looked at how museums could make our content much more accessible, such as giving tours in sign language and accompanying written labels with audio versions. Practical sessions included tips on how to make exhibition spaces easy to navigate - and experience in full - while using a wheelchair.
It was immensely valuable to learn ways to break down barriers, and then to be inspired to go further. Physical and cultural access for all is just the minimum expected of museums, but what we really need to strive for is active and meaningful participation from a broad range of people within our community. That requires building relationships with a number of groups, especially those that have been marginalised, and over time increasing the diversity within museum staff.
I learned that 24 per cent of the population lives with a disability and that there are more than 20,000 native speakers of New Zealand Sign Language. It's exciting to think of the potential to work collaboratively to share stories from these communities and more that are not often heard.
