Workshops Parallel Session 1

“Access and Inclusion” Maria Vlachou, Acesso Cultura

What is the meaning of the concepts “access” and “inclusion” and how do they practically affect the everyday work of a museum? How do they relate to both “internal” (collect, preserve and research) and “external” (interpret, exhibit) museum functions? What is, or should be, their impact on human relations, within the teams and with society at large? And can any of these questions be answered if a museum does not have a clear mission, if it is not clear why it does what it does?

Maria Vlachou

Founding member and the executive director of Acesso Cultura

Author of the books “What have we got to do with it? The political role of cultural organisations” (2022, in Portuguese) and “Musing on Culture: Management, Communication and our Relationship with People” (2013, in English). Author of the bilingual (pt/en) blog Musing on Culture. She is the manager of the Facebook group Museum texts / Textos em museus and co-manager of the blog Museums and Migration. She participated in the European project RESHAPE – Reflect, Share, Practice, Experiment, having joined the trajectory on “Arts and Citizenship”. She is also a member of the Board of the international museum professionals network Solidarity in Action and a member of ICOM. She has a M.A. in Museum Studies (University College London, 1994).