Point A to Point B
Today I struggled getting around the museums and finding seating. As you all know, I currently have a severe sprain in my left ankle and it has made it difficult for me to navigate both the city and museums. Due to my current handicap, I have noticed not only the limitations placed on what people with a physical disability can do within these museums, but also some issues these museums may want to address in terms of accessibility.
When I first arrived at the Brooklyn Museum I did not notice that there were ramps I could have used to bypass the outer stairs. The entrances to the ramps were out of the way and I ended up using the stairs. Although there was an elevator that visitors could use to navigate the gallery floors, there was a very long line. Since I had to stand in line to move from floor to floor, I did not have time to visit all of the galleries that I wanted to before we all had to meet up for lunch. I was only able to visit one other exhibit aside from the Infinite Blue exhibit we visited in the morning. There was also very little seating. The seating that was available was in central areas, such as the lobby, and very few were in the galleries. This severely limited the artwork I could view from a seated position.
The Schomburg Center had an elevator with security at hand to answer questions and guide the visitor. This really made it easy for me to navigate the space and know where I needed to go. However, it lacked seating as well. There were benches next to the main lobby near the gift shop and there were benches in the Black Power video room. But, there was no seating in the galleries.
The Studio Museum had more available seating in prominent areas than the other two museums. There was seating in both the atrium and the gallery/entry hall. While we did not go upstairs or downstairs, I did notice there were several floors and I don’t recall seeing a centrally located elevator.
I left the museums today wondering, how can museums improve accessibility so that people who are physically disabled can still enjoy their time and have a similar experience as those who are able bodied? Is there a way to improve accessibility in older buildings without breaking a budget? Some choices for ramp, elevator, and seating placement seemed to be aesthetic; are museums willing to sacrifice some of the aesthetics for ease of access?
