The History of Museum Access

In the late 20th century, museum spaces underwent significant changes as a result of the United States’s Rehabilitation Acts of 1954, 1973, and the Disability Act of 1990. These laws sought to combat discrimination against disabled people in their use of public facilities. As a result, new forms of inclusion were tested in the museum landscape expanding worldwide. These laws led to the architectural redesign of buildings inside and out, the reform of existing displays, and the implementation of creative art education programmes. Based on the current debate on the topic of ‘creative access’ (Armanda Cachia), this session explores the historical foundations of museum inclusion programmes currently established. By critically analysing the emerging conditions which spawned exemplary access prototypes, we can methodically evaluate their continued relevance. The guiding question is: Can ideas for the present and future of museum access be developed from the conceptual repertoire of the past?

We invite contributions which present progressive inclusion concepts for disabled people developed and implemented institutionally since the post-war period. Or papers which deal with activist interventions in the museum space related to the topic of access. During this post-war period: what approaches were experimented with, what problems were overcome in the process, and what new ones were created? What controversies between curators, conservators and visitors accompanied the development of early inclusion programmes, and what potential do these experimental approaches hold for possible updating? These and other questions will be systematically discussed for the first time in the session, The History of Museum Access.

The session format for this half day session, will be an introduction by the Chairs (10 mins) followed by four 20-minute papers, each followed by 5 minutes of discussion, and a final discussion (10 mins).

Submit your Paper via this form. Please download, complete and send it directly to the Session Convenor(s) below by Sunday 2 November 2025:

Dr Alexandra F. Morris, University of Lincoln, afm1290@optimum.net

Dr Tobias Teutenberg, Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History, Rome, tobias.teutenberg@biblhertz.it