> For art museums and/or health museums on list, are any
> of you cognizant of exhibitions depicting People With
> Disabilities (PWD)?
>
> If yes, where, and are the PWD depicted as grotesque
> or respectfully?  Are there any that depict the human
> body of a PWD in a favorable way?

About 7-8 years ago when I worked at the Virginia Discovery Museum, a
children's museum in Charlottesville, we did an exhibit on Assistive
Technologies. There were no depictions of human bodies per se, but visitors
had the chance to interact with some of the devices that are used by PWDs. I
certainly hope we were respectful... we took the attitude "some people talk
with their voices, and other people use a voice synthesizer... some people
move around on their feet, and other people use a wheelchair (or walker or
cane)...  some people read with their eyes, and some people read with their
fingers..." and tried to make it all seem as everyday and non-threatening
and even.... cool ...as we could (and some of the technology really is
amazing!). I think the exhibit graphic showed a kid racing in a wheelchair.

The Museum sometimes reworks temporary exhibits and does them again... the
exhibit director is Fenella Belle and the email address is [log in to unmask]

I know that other children's museums have tackled this topic as well.

(and on the law of unintended consequences... during the exhibit local kids
got so comfortable around wheelchairs that we had reports that after leaving
the Museum, they would spot people in wheelchairs on the street and run over
to compare features and ask for a ride...)

Carol Ely
Museum Consultant
Louisville

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