North Hertfordshire Museum is taking part in the Curating for Change project, providing a work placement for D/deaf and disabled curators

Curating for Change, a ground-breaking work placement programme for D/deaf and disabled curators in museums, has launched thanks to an award of £950,900.00 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Screen South’s pioneering Accentuate Programme will provide a landmark Fellowship and Traineeship programme which includes fully funded paid work placements with mentoring and training opportunities for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people wanting to pursue a career within museums.

North Herts Museum is one of 20 partner museums that will be hosting fellows and trainees for the program. We will be hosting a trainee for 40 days, over a 3-month period. This is the first time that such a significant range of museums have come together to create a network of activities that will begin to tackle the under-representation of disabled people in our museums.

Ros Allwood, North Herts Cultural Services Manager and Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews, Museum Curator and Heritage Access Officer for the North Hertfordshire Museum have been involved with this project from its inception back in 2019 and are delighted that the project has received the vital funding it needed to make it a reality.

Currently there are 14.1 million disabled people living in the UK. 19% of working age adults are disabled (Family Resources Survey, 2018-19). Disabled people are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled people (ONS Labour Force Survey, April to June 2020). The inequalities are further accentuated within the museum sector workforce, with only 4% defining as D/deaf or disabled. Curating for Change will start to address the significant gap in access and employment across the heritage sector.

The rich and diverse history of D/deaf and disabled people is rarely exhibited in museums.  Without D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people in curatorial roles, the challenges are significant in terms of telling authentic narratives that relate to disability history. In addition, there are barriers in the ways in which disabled people experience museums. Exhibitions and displays are predominantly designed for ‘normal’ bodies, we hope this programme will help give consideration to and improve how D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people will navigate and/or experience our exhibits.

It will also provide a much-needed platform for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent curators to demonstrate their skills and unique insights, encouraging a new lens through which to consider heritage narratives and ways to engage audiences. 

Esther Fox, Head of Accentuate, says "We are so excited that with thanks to National Lottery players’ support, we can at last tackle the huge problem of the under-representation of D/deaf and disabled people in our museums - both as staff, and in the collections and the stories that are told. We are privileged to be working with a whole range of wonderful museums to bring about this change. From small community museums such as Hastings Museum and Art Gallery to large Nationals including the Museum of Liverpool and the National Railway Museum York, part of the Science Museum group. There is a commitment from right across the sector to improve equity and representation and Curating for Change will deliver the activities that will make this change a reality."

Cllr Sam Collins, North Herts Council’s Executive Member for Enterprise, the Arts and Transport, said “We are honoured to be taking part in this project to make a step towards better representation for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people in our Museum, both through more inclusive displays and by providing career opportunities. It is vital that our Museums represent the History of the breath of our community and that the displays are accessible to all. We would like to thank Screen South and The National Lottery Heritage and Lottery players players for making the Curating for Change project a reality.”