Museum Tinguely
Museum Tinguely’s engagement in "Kultur Inklusiv" goes far beyond the commitment to making its exhibitions and events accessible to all visitors, regardless of their physical, sensory, or cognitive abilities. Through a close collaboration with the „Kultur Inklusiv“ network (a Swiss label managed by Pro Infirmis, the national expert organisation for people with disabilities) the art education department fostered an inclusive environment throughout all museum departments and along all working processes. The inclusive spirit is very much inspired by core values of Jean Tinguely’s artistic practice that sets into motion, has a strong multisensory appeal and values imperfection. It is furthermore celebrated in an evolving series of temporary exhibitions and conferences dedicated to smell, touch, taste, hearing and sight in art.
Since 2018 we at Museum Tinguely follow a spiral model for the continued development in this field, focusing on one type of impairment each year: hearing, visual, mobility, cognitive. The focus is repeated and thus enhanced with every new round ensuring constant improvement. It is of utmost importance to us that we work collaboratively with the people concerned as well as specialised institutions and go as far as to share interpretive sovereignty inside the museum with experts in their own cause.
We are very proud of the fruits of our endeavours in the five fields of action: cultural offerings (e.g. guided tours by persons with disabilities), communication (e.g. texts in simplified language “Leichte Sprache”), job opportunities (the successful recruitment of persons with disabilities), content access (e.g. barrier free website) and infrastructural measures (e.g. sanding off the pavement outside the building). In a pioneer way, we live the unpretentious motto that we are a museum for art beginners and love low thresholds to ensure that everyone can fully engage with our collections and programs.
Explain in one sentence why you think the project you nominate is outstanding and could serve as an example for the entire community of modern and contemporary art museums.
We succeeded in changing the museum’s attitude bottom-up in the long-term with consistent small steps; this change has positive inward - regarding operations - as well as outward effects: perception by the community, the general public, the specialist world.
Explain why this practice or program is relevant and sustainable in creating meaningful and lasting connections with people, communities, and the museum context with a medium to long-term vision.
It takes time to abolish the belief that an art museum has nothing to offer for people with disabilities. The museum therefore creates lasting partnerships with people with disabilities as the only way to improve accessibility in the long-term. We recognize individuals with disabilities as experts and commission them with a paid consulting or executing role. Thanks to personal, shared experiences, they act as advocates for the museum voluntarily and become enthusiastic multiplicators within their communities. This has a much more sustainable impact than when museum staff try the same.
An example of this involvement is the long-term collaboration with “machTheater” (collective of young actors with cognitive disabilities). The museum empowered them to interpret artworks and create content by guiding the public through the collection from their own perspective. This partnership led to the employment of a staff member with cognitive disabilities welcoming visitors at the entrance of the museum.