The purpose of this thesis was to understand how museums make their establishment accessible, if there are any obstacles in their accessibility and in that case what effects this can cause. The thesis examines accessibility at seven museums in Stockholm by participatory observation area with focus on the visitor experience for wheelchair users. The thesis also investigates whether lack of accessibility and inclusion had any possible effect on the visitor experience by means of interviews and content analysis of the accessibility information provided on the museums' websites and annual reports on what measures have been taken by the museum to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. The results from all seven investigated museums demonstrated that physical accessibility was taken into account but to a certain extent, there have been lifts, ramps, accessible entrances and accessibility-adapted toilets. There were also some positive aspects of accessibility that transcended the most basic accessibility guidelines. Obstacles were identified during all seven observations and these mainly related to exclusionary design of the exhibitions, which in turn affected the visitor experience negatively. The interviews showed that the informants had experienced obstacles at the specified museums and also other museums. In summary, it can be stated that all aspects of accessibility affect the visitor experience, even if the overall experience is positive. Obstacles in accessibility can have negative effects both on the visitor experience but also individually with a negative impact on feelings of independence and/or belonging. The museums' annual reports and the accessibility information from the museums' websites all showed that they are actively working with accessibility, although the extent to which varies. The accessibility information could vary in how well the accessibility adaptations were described and there were few measures reported for people with reduced mobility in the museum’s annual reports. This compiled material demonstrated that there is a knowledge gap regarding accessibility at the museums and together with the material from the interviews and the observations it can be claimed that there are several measures the museums can take to improve accessibility. Finally, a lack of inclusion and accessibility has major effects both on an individual and a societal level. The effects on the individual level have already been mentioned as a negative impact on feelings of independence and belonging but also a negative impact on the self-image. In summary, the effects on the societal level can be claimed to be low levels of participation in people with disabilities and a maintenance of prevailing normative systems that have a negative effect on inclusion and diversity. This is a two-year master’s thesis in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-506281 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Pettersson, Sara |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för ABM |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | Uppsatser inom musei- & kulturarvsvetenskap, 1651-6079 ; 167 |
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