Throughout March, GLAM Community Engagement will be holding workshops with disabled, chronically ill and neurodiverse communities in Oxford.

The purpose of the workshops is to improve accessibility and representation in the venues, but also to equip disabled people with the skills and confidence to work with museum collections. These skills will include object handling with a disability, tips for those wanting to pursue museum & heritage careers, using collections online and searching for objects, community curation, using material culture for research and responding to objects from different perspectives. We will be using objects from the Ashmolean and Pitt Rivers museums.

The workshops are divided into different groups so that hopefully we can make the most of our time together and focus in on the areas that would benefit participants the most.

Outcomes of the workshops will be used as part of a report for the venues that will be the foundation for creating practical changes, but participants will remain anonymous. The workshops are also vital for proving the need for funding to implement further disability projects, including physical and virtual trails. Another more immediate outcome is to inform a new audio tour at the Ashmolean looking at disability and illness through the ages. There will be opportunities for participants to get involved in these other projects if they so choose!

University staff may have received a previous email about the staff workshop, but having consulted with several members of staff about teaching schedules etc., there is now going to be a GLAM staff and volunteers workshop on March 3 and University staff on March 16. However, if the date doesn’t work, you are more than welcome to attend the other workshop!

There will be an online workshop (date TBA) for those who are unable to attend in person.