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This is a #MuseumsAreNotNeutral thread:
Four months ago, @DesignMuseum reached out to me informing me that a project of mine had been shortlisted for their #BeazleyDesignsoftheYear.
Four months ago, @DesignMuseum reached out to me informing me that a project of mine had been shortlisted for their #BeazleyDesignsoftheYear.
I responded asking about accessibility as well as what disabled experts they were consulting. The remainder of the conversation did not go well.
My last email to them was "Question for you. How would you respond to this email if you were on the receiving end of it?"
Their response? "It is clear that we have a lot of learning and reflecting to do. Once we are further along this process, our ambition is that you would be willing to work with us."
I never heard from them again. The exhibit goes live tomorrow, though I discovered my biggest fear on their website this morning.
When they informed me that they would be featuring Lego Braille Bricks, I sent them a CriticalAxis review that describes how Lego stole the concept from the blind community and then turned the product into charity. http://www.criticalaxis.org/critique/lego-braille-bricks/
They thanked me for sending it, though it appears they never read it, because Lego Braille Bricks are now featured on #BeazleyDesignsoftheYear https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/beazley-designs-of-the-year/product-2020/lego-braille-bricks
If we are to discuss Accessibility measures though, the Accessibility Policy does not include any digital access measures, and this is an electronic exhibition: https://twitter.com/DesignMuseum/status/1318464052658581504
Their first Tweet about the #BeazleyDesignsoftheYear included an image that did not contain alt text. I commented, and they reposted the image, adding alt text. But it didn't describe the image, they described a link in the Tweet. https://twitter.com/elizejackson/status/1318509449712107520
Back to our exchange: In my first email to them I wrote "I am a disabled person who has struggled deeply with disability representation in design museums." I sent them links to educate them about what a #DisabilityDongle is.
I sent them explainers of harms caused by museums that taut disability innovation for non-disabled audiences https://hyperallergic.com/530652/designs-for-different-futures-at-the-philadelphia-museum-of-art/
And yet they persisted. It does not seem they consulted any disabled people. I am too upset at the moment to look through any other designs in this exhibit. I know there's so much more and urge my disabled peers to scroll through the categories: https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/beazley-designs-of-the-year
To summarize my frustration, this was a response I had to write to the curator, Emily King during our exchange: "Thanks for your response. Despite the fact that your brief summary has absolutely nothing to do with what my talk was about, I appreciate your effort."
@DesignMuseum needs to use its platform to demand Lego pay restitution to http://www.tack-tiles.com/
One last thought. A flattened image of braille without any sort of description goes beyond appropriation. Touting a braille product in a digital exhibit without any sort of digital access policy is utterly galling.
