350 museums of Russia supported the action “Museums for all!”

350 museums of Russia supported the action “Museums for all!”

 

Image: Red Square, State museum of Russian history

 

In the first winter weekend, Russian museums opened their doors for special visitors. Visually impaired, people with hearing impairments or wheelchair users became excursionists and participants of inclusive programs within the framework of the All-Russian action “Museums for All!”.

The action, calling on objects of culture to be accessible to all visitors, was held for the second time. It is held by the Russian Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM of Russia) in conjunction with the social project “Wheel of Survey” and the portal Kultura.RF. with the support of the Sberbank Charitable Foundation “Contribution to the Future”. In 2017, over 250 Russian museums from different cities, from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, took part in the event.

Image: hands of people couching sculpture
For the first time in the Historical Museum in Moscow
were held inclusive festival "Accessible history" (Source)



This year's action gathered even more participants: more than 350 museums from 74 regions of Russia. This year, they offered interactive excursions, master classes, presentations, performances, poetic and jazz performances, dance programs, and in some museums were tea-drinking, during which participants shared their impressions.


On the very first day of the action, the Khakass National Museum of Local History was visited by about 3 thousand guests. In one social network, a visitor’s feedback from one of the events appeared:

“At first we didn’t plan to go to this event, and then planned for half an hour ... And then we stayed until the end ... the first time I saw a museum so“ filled ”with not only people! Kindness, smiles, lively interest, communication. I wanted to cry from strong emotions. ”


Employees of the architectural and ethnographic museum-reserve "Ludorvay" of the Udmurd Republic managed to make a tour for visually impaired visitors not only informative, but also spiritual. After the walk, the guests tasted traditional dishes cooked by Udmurt masters - tabani and perepechi - and warmed up with hot herbal tea while listening to national songs.

Guests of the State Museum-Reserve MA Sholokhov in the village Veshenskaya created a joint artistic canvas. When the painting of the canvas was finished, the horse-drawn carriage took all the guests for a walk.

Moscow museums actively supported the action: this time more than 50 sites took part in it.  At the Institute of Russian Realistic Art (IRRI), guided tours were held where guides were children with special needs. The mother of one of the guides wrote to the organizers:

“I am proud of my son! Yesterday, one more step towards maturity was made, invaluable communication experience was gained, a lot of work was done... Thank you for the warmth of communication, for giving my son an opportunity to feel more confident, and the work in which he is engaged is important and necessary. ”

One of the participants in the team of the Center for Creative Projects “Inclusion” in Moscow wrote in her Instagram account:

“Please, can we take part in the“ Museum for All! ” every weekend? It was a real celebration. Thank you, friends and viewers for sharing it with us. Thank you for bringing flowers and opening their souls for experiments, and hearts for the senses. ”


Visitors to the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg were able to participate in the creative workshop “Winter Window” - the children painted elegant windows of the palace, frosty patterns on the glass, and the approaching wonders of the New Year. Also, visitors had an excursion-quest “Riddles of the Stroganovs family”, during which the participants got acquainted with the architectural features of the Stroganov Palace, as well as comprehend secrets related to the original tastes of the main owner of the palace, Count S. G. Stroganov.

Many adapted museum programs were prepared and conducted in the Volga region, Central Russia, Siberia, and the Far East. At the beginning of next year, a new series of materials on the understanding of disability and webinars on the organization of inclusive programs in museums are planned to be released as part of the “Inclusive Museum” project.