By Peter Nurick, Communities Producer, Access and Learning Earlier this year V&A Dundee introduced Sensory Friendly Days, supported by players of the People’s Postcode Lottery and designed to welcome visitors who may benefit from a more relaxed sensorial environment. As part of these events, the museum unveiled brand new, updated sensory friendly backpacks to enhance the experience for visitors. The …
‘You’ve Been Royally Framed’, Relaxed Evening Opening at National Maritime Museum, Aug 2021
With so many relaxed events scheduled early in the morning it makes a nice change to visit a museum after hours. The National Maritime Museum offered a whole lot of ‘Royal’ fun at a relaxed opening of their latest 4 star exhibition of the Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits. The museum in Greenwich opened from 5.30-8pm for families with …
Interview – Abby Bird, Audiences and Communications Manager, Black Country Living Museum, July 2021
If you haven’t heard the news (and quite frankly where have you been?) that the Black Country Living Museum is a TikTok sensation. With over 1 million followers on TikTok the museum is connecting to younger audiences in ways that other museums can only dream of. Who is behind this success? Abby Bird, their marketing and communications whizz! Abby also …
Review: Relaxed Hours – Matthew Barney and Igshaan Adams at the Hayward Gallery, London, June 2021
Both shows currently on at Hayward Gallery – Igshaan Adams’ “Kicking Dust” and Matthew Barney’s “Redoubt” – while very different, are both brilliant with their respective concepts and works. Whenever I visit exhibitions, I visit with two mindsets – one as an artist and avid artgoer, the other as the mother of an autistic son. Barney’s work has appealed to …
Football Clubs and Sensory Rooms – a visit to Arsenal and Chelsea, Apr 2021
Getting fans back to football is about so much more than ‘Pukka Pies’ and a pint, whilst we have been able to enjoy sport on television nothing beats the match day live experience. Many football fans have realised for the first time what it feels like to be unable to experience their favourite team playing week in and week out. …
Autograph Gallery, London: On adapting our Family SEND Workshops for Lockdown, April 2021
At Autograph we focus on exhibiting and publishing photography, which explores issues related to identity, diversity and human rights. We are strong advocates for representing and including people who are marginalised and have built our organisation around supporting those who have historically been excluded from participating in the arts. In 2017, we joined a radical UK-wide project highlighting the extraordinary …
Working with SEND Learners at The Red House
A Partnership Project between Autism in Nature and Britten-Pears Arts Joe Carr, Collection and Learning Curator Background The Red House is the historic home of the composer Benjamin Britten and his partner the singer Peter Pears, located in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. It comprises the historic house, kept as Britten and Pears knew it; Britten’s composition studio, similarly in its original state; …
Engaging children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) virtually through lockdown
During the Covid 19 lockdown University of Cambridge Museums wanted to engage remotely and maintain relationships with our pre-existing audience of children with special educational needs and disabilities. According to government statistics in January 2020 12.1% of all school pupils have a special educational need, and we have two main programmes for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Arts Pioneers, for …
Supporting teachers and students from Autism Spectrum Condition specialist schools to engage with the Natural History Museum, March, 2021
Championing diversity to create an inclusive organisation is a core value for the Natural History Museum and will help us achieve our strategic priority to engage and involve the widest possible audience. To build on the Museum’s knowledge of how to engage neurodiverse children and their families, the Audience Research and Insight Team teamed up with Access and Inclusion Advisor, …
Making Rhondda Heritage Park: Welsh Mining Experience Autism Friendly, February 2021
Back in 2018, Rhondda Heritage Park: Welsh Mining Experience, began a partnership with the National Autistic Society and other local family autism groups. The idea was to be accredited with the Autism Friendly Award by the National Autistic Society (NAS) by making the site more accessible to additional needs groups. At the beginning, it felt quite daunting as the main …