By Audra Buck-Coleman
University of Maryland, College Park Associate Professor and Redefine/ABLE Project Director
Redefine/ABLE: Challenging Inaccessibility began with the goals of sharing the challenges, successes and stories of Maryland’s disabled communities; interrogating the idea of “normal” within historical, cultural and ethical contexts and creating a model for the ways exhibits and other information delivery can be more accessible. During the 2019-2020 academic year, the 2020 University of Maryland, College Park graphic design cohort conducted research and worked with disabled stakeholders to create the exhibit.
We intended this project to manifest as an exhibit in two different physical spaces—the Carroll Mansion in Baltimore and the Herman Maril Gallery on the University of Maryland, College Park campus—and on an online space. It has now become an online social media exhibit only due to Covid-19. The pandemic has altered our installation plans and heightened the pertinence of the project’s mission. (Check back here Monday when we address how the novel coronavirus has fueled ableism.)
Generally graphic designers strive to create messages for a broad audience. However, too often this leads to thinking about and designing for majorities rather than minorities. “Ableism” is a term used to describe the discrimination against those with disabilities and is stimulated by society’s stereotypes and pejorative views of those who look or act differently. “Universal design” is an approach to creating systems, spaces and objects that meet the needs of all people. We focused on how design might foster participation, equity and more inclusive spaces, whether physical, digital or social. We wanted to thwart ableism through universal design.
Redefine/ABLE was to be distinctive in the ways and spaces it was to be installed. First, installing an exhibit in two physical spaces is not common practice. Museums typically exhibit content and artifacts that no other locations have, however, this exclusivity inhibits accessibility and inclusion. We deliberately duplicated content in two spaces in an effort to reach more visitors.
However, both physical spaces presented accessibility challenges. While The Peale’s building was being renovated, the Carroll Mansion served as host for the organization’s exhibitions and events, including Redefine/ABLE. Built in 1811, the four-story Carroll Mansion does not have an elevator. Only the ground floor is accessible to those unable to navigate stairs. The Americans With Disabilities Act permits exemptions for historic buildings such as this one.
The Maril Gallery, too, was in accessible. Visitors must navigate three steps to get to the far side of the gallery. As with the Carroll Mansion, those who could not traverse steps were prohibited from a full discovery of the space. In addition, the doorway to a side room in the Maril Gallery was not wide enough for someone using a wheelchair to pass through. However, unlike the Carroll Mansion, we were able to make the Maril space accessible. Jerry Romanow, the Department of Art’s building safety coordinator, designed and built a ramp and widened the side room doorway. Although ours won’t be installed there, future Maril exhibits and events will be more fully accessible.
The students and stakeholders also strove to create a more inclusive exhibit by engaging different senses. For example, an interactive piece asked visitors to consider whether historic buildings such as the Carroll Mansion should be allowed to remain historically accurate yet inaccessible. Visitors could record their agreement or disagreement by placing a marble in the “Yes” or “No” marble run. Before dropping into their respective containers, the marbles would roll their way down a winding “yes” or “no” path, a visual and auditory voting reward. A voice readout scale would announce the different weights of the vote result containers for those who could not see the difference.
We also had planned to install tactile pathways with strategically placed QR codes so that those using canes would be able to navigate the exhibit space and access the wall panels with their smartphone screen readers. If a visitor was unable to see the installed information, their smartphone could provide them the content.
Applying insights and feedback from their stakeholders, these students created insightful and compelling content. However, for me, one of their most powerful and lionhearted decisions was to decline installing in part of the Carroll Mansion.
The Peale staff apportioned Carroll Mansion space on the ground and second floors for the Redefine/ABLE exhibition. The second-floor space was about three times larger. However, since the second floor was inaccessible, the students decided against using it. Their thinking was that if everyone couldn’t visit a space, then it should not be activated with content. The empty second floor space would send a powerful message about being inclusive.
For this cohort, creating this exhibit was an unprecedented opportunity. They wanted to make the most of it, which included making the most the allotted spaces. Passing up the opportunity to use more space wasn’t an easy decision but it was the ethical and right one.
Further, when The Peale staff suggested another exhibit might now install in the unoccupied second floor, they had to argue for not only why they should only use the ground floor but why others, who are also eager to have exhibition space, should be denied the inaccessible space. Fortunately, they were able to make a convincing case and the second floor was to remain devoid of exhibition content.
Although the exhibit is now only represented virtually, which does not offer our planned experiential and experimental physical aspects, we are pleased to have this content represented at least in some way through this website. We want this project to prompt conversation. Throughout the next two months The Peale will be hosting related events and we will be posting content to this site and or social media channels.
We invite you to visit these spaces frequently as well as listen to and share your stories about disability. Your story can be about a personal experience with a disability, about an understanding you now have about ableism, experiences as a disability ally or actions you will now take to be more inclusive. We hope you come away with an enriched understanding of the ways we as a society can be more inclusive for those with disabilities.
Finally, I want to express our gratitude to Maryland Humanities, The Institute of Museum and Library Science, The Arts and Humanities Research Council in the United Kingdom, and the University of Maryland, College Park Friedgen Family Fund. This project would not have been possible without their financial support.
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