Advancing Equity
Featured The Para-Pedagogical: Liberating Pedagogy to Transform Cultural Institutions
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Lleah Smith
Inspired by Helguera’s (2010, 2011) 'Education as Art' and the para-curatorial theories of McDowell (2016) and Hoffmann (2011, 2013), this research introduces the para-pedagogical, my new neologism that reimagines the role of arts-rich pedagogies within cultural institutions. While the 'para' in para-curatorial is often perceived as 'lesser than' (Hoffmann, 2011, 2013; McDowell 2016), the 'para' in the para-pedagogical liberates pedagogy by freeing it from the constraints of exhibitions. This autonomy enables pedagogy to align with institutional missions and move with its own intentionality, positioning the para-pedagogical as a transformative framework for the GLAM sector to act as engines of innovation and social participation. By fostering sustainable, community-centered approaches, it empowers institutions to respond flexibly to evolving societal needs. The para-pedagogical reclaims education as a critical, relational practice driven by it's own intentionality, it emphasises slow, dialogical, and situated formats that nurture shared knowledge and material entanglements both with and beyond the institutional frame. By prioritising storied, embodied learning experiences, the para-pedagogical supports GLAM institutions in creating inclusive spaces for collaboration and dialogue. Aligned with the Reggio Emilia approach, the para-pedagogical prompts reflective questions such as, 'Who am I working for today?' and 'What opportunities are we hoping to afford?' (Alkhudhair, 2014). Through productive agitation (Smith, 2024), it fosters intellectual and ecological resilience, enabling institutions to decentralise knowledge systems and embrace non-Western and more-than-human epistemologies. The para-pedagogical transforms GLAM institutions into vital sites of social participation, advancing sustainability and equitable, innovative futures.
The Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Making Exhibitions More Accessible: Reflections from “Graz Posters 1920-1955”
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Christoph Kreinbucher Bekerle, Angela Fink
People with disabilities are still underrepresented in exhibitions and their perspectives are hardly included in the process of making exhibitions more accessible (González-Herrera et al., 2023; Kreinbucher-Bekerle & Pateisky, 2021). Against this backdrop, the GrazMuseum held an exhibition on the topic “Graz Posters 1920-1955”. This marks an unique exhibition due to the fact that people with different disabilities were involved in all project phases, starting from the initial idea to conceptualization, during the production of the exhibition, as artists, during visitors education and also when evaluating the exhibition. Therefore, the content of the exhibition could be experienced using listening, touching or smelling stations. Moreover, the whole texts for the exhibition were presented in easy-to-read language. In this way, the exhibition provided an inclusive offer and a sensual added value for visitors with and without physical, learning, hearing and visual disabilities. The project has also had a sustainable impact on the museum and people from several departments have learned from it. In the paper we highlight the process of designing the exhibition in combination with feedback from the visitors (e.g., several focus groups and 112 questionnaires). Finally, we reflect the collaboration of people with disabilities, museum staff and the scientific researchers in terms of citizen science, highlighting the potential in creating accessible art for all visitors.
Newid Byd | Something New: Community Action Research Emphasizing Lived Experience of Learning Difference and Disabilities Space
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kate Allen, Nicholas Hollinworth, Gosia Kwiatkowska
Something New is a collaboration between the Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum of Wales at St Fagan’s, Welsh charity Innovate Trust, purpleSTARS and Rix Inclusive Research. The project funded by UKRI part of Museum Association’s Mindsets + Missions to engage underrepresented groups with knowledge, research and innovation. https://www.museumsassociation.org/funding/mindsets-and-missions/case-studies/amgueddfa-cymru-museum-wales/. A team of inclusive researchers with and without lived experience of learning difference and disabilities (LDD) co-researched and co-produced sensory interactives and a role-play quest game to enhance accessibility and representation in museum spaces. People with LDD were included in the project design process and created a sustainable impact on how museums approach inclusivity. The key aims of the project were to establish a working group of people with LDD to create a space where their voices could be heard, to pilot a research framework for sensory engagement with collections to enhance representation, and to ensure participants felt better represented in museums and more welcome in our museum spaces. Sensory engagement took precedence, embedding ideas around museum objects on display in the Life is Gallery at St Fagan’s National Museum of History, just outside of Cardiff. We created a sensory version of a role play quest game called 'Operation Dragon', based on Dungeons and Dragons and with an accompanying sensory belt connecting objects and historical characters from the gallery to their ‘sensory powers’. The game reinforced the importance of engaging with museum collections through alternative approaches. We learned the power of gamification, adding a layer of engagement far greater than anticipated. https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1001142476
Interactivity and Spatial Narratives: A Critical Look at Three Brazilian Museums
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Julia Resende, Luiza Novaes
In an era where cultural institutions are called upon to foster innovation and broaden social participation, interactivity is often celebrated in contemporary museum discourse as a catalyst for innovation and social involvement. However, implementing interactive strategies frequently reveals tensions between institutional ambitions and the actual integration of architecture, museography, and museology. This study critically examines such tensions in Brazilian museum practice through a secondary analysis of empirical research by Lupo (2019), who investigated three emblematic institutions: the Football Museum (São Paulo), the Museum of Tomorrow (Rio de Janeiro), and the Museum of the Portuguese Language (São Paulo). Drawing from museum studies and architectural theory, particularly the works of Davallon (1999), Santacana and Piñol (2010), and Falk and Dierking (2000), the research explores how interactivity is shaped not only by technological devices but also by spatial and narrative configurations. The study identifies critical challenges in aligning participatory goals with interdisciplinary design processes, echoing Machado’s (2015) critique of the uncritical adoption of digital media in exhibitions. The findings suggest that, despite discourses of innovation, a lack of coordination among curatorial, architectural, and museological teams often compromises the effectiveness of interactivity as a communicational and inclusive practice. This analysis reveals how fragmented planning can limit the museum's capacity to serve as a socially engaged cultural space. It concludes by arguing that genuine innovation in galleries and museums often depends on early and sustained cross-disciplinary collaboration, capable of integrating content, form, and visitor experience into a coherent institutional narrative.
