For World Autism Day we have a fantastic new blog from Amba who is the Community Outreach Officer at the Cartoon Museum. She tells us about her own reasons for wanting to improve access to the London museum and shares the work she is doing with autistic audiences: Growing up I benefitted from museum outreach programmes, and while I ended …
Interview – Marion Godwin, Visitor Engagement Team Leader, Blists Hill, April 2022
On Autism Awareness Day we are delighted to share an interview with Marion who works at Blists Hill Victorian Town, part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. In the interview we talk about what it means to be an autistic heritage professional and what it is like to be the ‘human version of an interpretation panel’! Marion talks about the …
Interview – Joseph McGeady, Learning Apprentice, British Library, March 2022
In this interview we talk to Joseph who has been doing an apprenticeship at the British Library. He shares his experience of working for a large cultural organisation and the types of activities he has undertaken as an apprentice. Why did you want to do an apprenticeship at the British Library? I have had a strong interest in history ever …
Co-curated opportunities in museums for neurodivergent young adults, Jan 2022
Esther Amis-Hughes, Leeds Museums and Galleries In 2018 a wonderful opportunity stumbled into my lap – Tim Boardman from the Study Programme within Swarthmore Education Centre (a setting for 16-24 year olds with learning disabilities and additional support needs) was looking for placements for students. I had very little experience of working with autistic or neurodivergent young adults – which …
Autism in Museums gets funding to work in partnership on a Digital Volunteering project thanks to National Lottery funding
Posted on: Thursday 25 November 2021, 9:47 am VocalEyes has been awarded £99,814 of National Lottery funding to launch a digital volunteering initiative and break down barriers to heritage. Today’s funding is part of The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Digital Skills for Heritage initiative, which aims to raise digital skills and confidence across the whole UK heritage sector. Seventeen projects have been …
Young people with autism participating in museums: Finding my voice with the ‘Reimagine Remake Replay’ Project
By Michael McConway In my experience, a museum is an accessible window into other cultures, a contemplative, quiet place of learning and reflection. Interactions with visitors in the galleries of my local museums in Northern Ireland, whether the larger National Museums Northern Ireland sites or regional heritage centres, can provide a rich vein of networking with others who feel strongly …
Sensory Friendly Backpacks at V&A Dundee
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 …