Stories/Lived Experiences
Author: Eva Krolla is a Research Assistant in the ERC-funded DANCING project at the School of Law and Criminology and Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute, Maynooth University.
5.45 am, the alarm is ringing, as scheduled. A little early, even for people like me who like to think of themselves as ‘morning people’. And it is true, I have little difficultly getting up. But it is accompanied by a subtle nervousness – do I have everything? Did I pack everything we need, better double-check that the USB key works. Done! I quickly brew some coffee and take a deep breath. Phone, keys, passport, boarding pass, laptop, USB key (double-check that one) and hand luggage – got everything. As the taxi slowly approaches the front door, I quietly leave the apartment, barely 6.30 in the morning. Subtle nervousness turning into excitement… This is my first conference with the DANCING team!
The taxi driver collects three fellow colleagues of the DANCING project and the ReCreating Europe project. Together we are on our way to Trento, Italy for the ‘Open Up Museums! Conference’, jointly organised by three EU funded projects: ReCreating Europe and inDICEs funded by the H2020 Programme, and DANCING funded by the European Research Council. The conference is hosted by two museums, MuSe – Museo delle Scienze and Mart – Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto in collaboration with by the Faculty of Law of the University of Trento
Everything goes smoothly, from flight to airport transfer and hotel check-in. It is now time to explore Trento and experience the Italian vibe a little bit before the conference kicks off the next day.
The next morning sees the sky clear and the sun emerging before we head towards MuSe, just a few minutes’ walk from our hotel. The museum will host the first day of the conference which comprises two panel sessions, a legal training workshop and a guided museum visit. As the location and conference title suggest, the focus will be on prospects and challenges of accessibility, diversity and inclusion within the cultural sector, especially within the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) sector by exploring key issues and tools to promote openness between law and practice.
Panel 2 of the day is entitled ‘Barriers to access to digital culture for vulnerable groups, inclusivity and the implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty’ in which Professor Delia Ferri and Katie Donnellan present their findings on access to digital culture for persons with disabilities and persons belonging to minorities. Their work is embedded in the ReCreating Europe project Work package 2 focusing on end users of digital cultural products and the intersections of copyright law and broader cultural policies. Giulia Rossello in conjunction with the team at Maynooth University focuses on barriers that blind and visually impaired persons face when accessing digital cultural products identifying both issues within copyright law and accessibility generally.
Sofie Taes of the inDICEs project delved deeper into some aspects of copyright law and how they relate to metadata of digital heritage collections. An interesting presentation of the intricacies of digitalising and opening up heritage collections while attempting to be inclusive, not only of the end users of the content, but of those whose heritage is at display too. The talk raised some questions in the audience and the panel stimulated attendees to discuss, question and rethink the many legal, socio-cultural, historical and rights-based issues that arise when opening up museums.
As a newcomer to the field of law, I was both challenged and intrigued to learn more and to discuss with fellow attendees – and that was the best part, discussing newly learnt information, questions and arising challenges with other researchers and experts, in person! The feeling of being able to bounce off ideas right there and then, to ask questions and develop new thoughts with others interested in the field was refreshing, inspiring and motivating.
Clearly, all of this had been possible over monitors, screens and webinars too, but eating pizza and fresh pasta accompanied by wine in the evening warmth of an Italian town in good company can hardly be compared to the online environment.
Yet, the final day of the conference still had more in store. This time participants and speakers were meeting at Mart in Rovereto, just a 30-minute drive from Trento.
The day was opened by keynote speaker Aldo Grassini, President of Museo Omero, a tactile museum in Ancona, Italy. Mr Grassini, himself a blind person, explained to the audience what and how the museum makes art accessible to those who cannot see, but touch art. A perfect introduction to the following panel which discussed how to foster accessibility for persons with disabilities in cultural organisations.
The panel was led by Professor Delia Ferri of Maynooth University and the principal investigator of the DANCING project. Together with her two colleagues Léa Urzel, PhD candidate and Dr Ann Leahy, postdoctoral researcher at the School of Law and Criminology and Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute, she presented preliminary findings of the project. While the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the international legal framework, EU law such as the Web Accessibility Directive and the European Accessibility Act complements national legislation in a European context. Based on qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires, barriers arise, broadly speaking, where persons with disabilities are not consulted and/ or involved in the development and design of physical spaces, such as museums, and the curation of accessible exhibitions or cultural content. Other speakers presented an array of good practices, signalling the importance of engaging in inclusive museum projects.
As the panel was simultaneously translated into Italian and interpreted for Italian Sign Language users, the discussion itself was already more accessible than many other deliberations on the matter.
Upon return to Maynooth, I must say that being challenged and in an environment out of my own depth can be discomforting at times yet very inspiring. There are many things that I still have to learn about, can learn about and that, perhaps, is the beauty of research – the never ending stream of questions and aspects not previously considered. The experience and expertise of others is always a source of new knowledge and understanding, motivation and incentive to broaden one’s horizon.
This blog has been written within the remit of the project ‘Protecting the Right to Culture of Persons with Disabilities and Enhancing Cultural Diversity through European Union Law: Exploring New Paths – DANCING’. This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No 864182).
