Stellenangebot vom 30. September 2025
Organizers: Alexandra F. Morris, University of Lincoln, afm1290@optimum.net; Tobias Teutenberg, Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History, tobias.teutenberg@biblhertz.it
Place: University of Cambridge (Association for Art History 2026 Annual Conference, 8–10 April 2026)
Deadline: 2 November 2025
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?
To submit a proposal, please follow the instructions on the official conference website