Inclusive practices in social and cultural museum space: ethnographic museums in Russia and Belarus

Abstract

On these pages the authors consider attempts of creating social and cultural spaca and inclusive practices for disabled people in museums of Russia and Belarus. We selected ethnographic museums or those, where there are ethnographic exhibits. These museums are located in central and northern regions of Russia and in Belarus. We used our field sources — results of a participant observation, texts of expert interviews, and data of web-sites. It is impossible to speak about inclusion in urban museums without the “right for a city” and universal design for different groups of population. Moreover, we cannot speak about inclusive museums without barriers free environment. We analyze difficulties in constructing inclusive space in museums located in old buildings and using inclusive practices there. People with low mobility are in the worst situation when visit museums. At the same time, new technologies are rarely used, including creation of virtual museum expositions and exhibitions, and this factor results in social and digital inequality. We also stress out some negative tendencies — passive position of many disabled persons and of organizations for disabled people, existing since the Soviet era. We conclude that in spite of some successful attempts of constructing inclusive space in museums of Russia and Belarus, this process is in the very beginning. Inclusive museums is not possible without the activism of disabled people and changing mass consciousness.