Formation of inclusive communities with the participation of people with disabilities in modern Russian museums
EDN: RXWIQV
Abstract
Inclusion and accessibility are among the most current trends in the development of modern museum projects. In adhering to these principles, museums represent diverse identities, work with excluded groups, involving people with disabilities in museum activities. The study examines three main forms of interaction between museums and inclusive communities and identifies the role of the museum in their formation, its ability to act as a catalyst for social cohesion of people with disabilities. The analysis is based on 56 in-depth interviews with museum staff who work with people with disabilities, and people with sensory disabilities involved in museum communities. As the results of the study have shown, museums can act as a platform that attracts already established inclusive communities. This practice is ensured through cooperation with public organizations, foundations and other stakeholders. Museums can also participate in the formation of their own inclusive communities. This approach appears when museums systematically work with people with disabilities, allowing them to express their identity and expertise. Moreover, museums contribute to the formation of professional inclusive communities that unite people with disabilities and specialists in the field of accessibility and inclusiveness.
Keywords
museums,
inclusion,
accessibility,
participatory culture,
inclusive communities,
agency,
cultural citizenship,
disability,
social cohesion
Supporting agencies: The research for this article was carried out with support of the grant of the Russian Science Foundation no. 22-78-10098 «Cultural Citizenship and Local Solidarity: The Experience of Social Inclusion of Museum Audiences in Russia».
About the Authors
E. M. Dolgova
HSE University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgova, Research Assistant, Doctoral Student, International Laboratory for Social
Integration Research, HSE University Lecturer, School of Sociology
101000, Moscow, Myasnitskaya Str., 20
M. V. Malofeeva
HSE University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Mariia Viacheslavovna Malofeeva, Research Assistant, International Laboratory for Social Integration Research
101000, Moscow, Myasnitskaya Str., 20
N. V. Bolshakov
HSE University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Nikita Viktorovich Bolshakov, Cand. Sci. (Sociology)
Associate Professor, Leading Research Fellow, International Laboratory for Social Integration Research
101000, Moscow, Myasnitskaya Str., 20
References
1. Abramov, R., Vlasova, T., & Ivanov, D. (2024). Kul’turnoe grazhdanstvo: opredeleniia i empiricheskaia kontekstualizatsiia [Cultural citizenship: definitions and empirical contextualization]. Sotsiologicheskoe obozrenie, 23(3), 25–52. https://doi.org/10.17323/1728-192x-2024-3-25-52. (In Russian).
2. Bennett, T. (2005). Civic laboratories: Museums, cultural objecthood and the governance of the social. Cultural Studies, 19(5), 521–547. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380500365416.
3. Blokland, T. (2017). Community as urban practice. John Wiley & Sons.
4. Chernega, A. A. (2020). “Sila mestnykh soobshchestv”: praktiki, mekhanizmy i modeli uchastiia zhitelei v sotsiokul’turnom razvitii territorii (na primere malykh naselennykh punktov Vologodskoi oblasti) [“The power of local communities”: Practices, mechanisms and models of resident’s participation in the sociocultural development of territories (on the material of small towns and villages in the Vologda Region) ]. Zhurnal sotsiologii i sotsial’noi antropologii, 23(3), 51–77. https://doi.org/10.31119/jssa.2020.23.3.3. (In Russian).
5. Dahlgren, P., & Hermes, J. (2015). The democratic horizons of the museum: Citizenship and culture. In A. Whitcomb, & K. Message (Eds.). Museum theory (pp. 117–138). Wiley Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118829059.wbihms107.
6. Dolgova, E., & Bol’shakov, N. (2023). Ponimanie invalidnosti v inkliuzivnom muzee: sistemnye protivorechiia i poisk konsensusa [Understanding disability in an inclusive museum: Systemic contradictions and the search for consensus]. Laboratorium: Zhurnal sotsial’nykh issledovanii, 15(1), 56–74. https://doi.org/10.25285/2078-1938-2023-15-1-56-74. (In Russian).
7. Gofman, A. B. (2013). Solidarnost’ ili pravila, Diurkgeim ili Khaiek? O dvukh formakh sotsial’noi integratsii [Solidarity or rules, Durkheim or Hayek? On two forms of social integration]. In N. E. Pokrovskii, & D. V. Efremenko (Eds). Sotsiologicheskii ezhegodnik, 2012: Sbornik nauchnykh trudov (pp. 97–167). INION RAN (In Russian).
8. Goodley, D. (1997). Locating self-advocacy in models of disability: Understanding disability in the support of self-advocates with learning difficulties. Disability & Society, 12(3), 367–379. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599727227.
9. Iarskaia-Smirnova, E., & Bol’shakov, N. (2020). Formirovanie inkliuzivnoi kul’tury muzeia: obzor russkoiazychnykh metodicheskikh posobi [Creating an inclusive culture in the museum: A review of Russian-language methodological guides]. The Garage Journal: Studies in Art, Museums & Culture, 1, 317–330. https://doi.org/10.35074/GJ.2020.1.1.018. (In Russian).
10. Khauort, D. [= Haworth, J.] (2015). Kul’tura uchastiia: muzei kak forum dlia dialoga i sotrudnichestva [Culture of participation: museum as a forum for dialogue and cooperation]. In D. Agapova (Ed.). Kul’tura uchastiia: muzei kak prostranstvo dialoga i sotrudnichestva (pp. 58–84). Tsentr razvitiia muzeinogo dela. (In Russian).
11. Ladd, P. (2003). Understanding deaf culture: In search of deafhood. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781853595479.
12. Luchkova, L. (2020). Pereosmysliaia rol’ glukhogo v art-institutsii: opyt Muzeia sovremennogo iskusstva “Garazh” [Rethinking the role of the deaf person in the art institution: The experience of Garage Museum of Contemporary Art]. The Garage Journal: Studies in Art, Museums & Culture, 1, 148–161. https://doi.org/10.35074/GJ.2020.1.1.010. (In Russian).
13. Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt, P., & Runnel, P. (2018). The museum as an arena for cultural citizenship: Exploring modes of engagement for audience empowerment. In K. Drotner, V. Dziekan, R. Parry, & K. C. Schrøder (Eds.). The Routledge handbook of museums, media and communication (pp. 143–158). Routledge.
14. Putnam, R. (2001). Social capital: Measurement and consequences. Canadian Journal of Policy Research, 2(1), 41–51.
15. Shchekochikhina, M. (2020). Ponimanie i realizatsiia inkliuzii v rossiiskikh muzeiakh [Understanding and implementing inclusion in Russian museums]. The Garage Journal: Studies in Art, Museums & Culture, 1, 98–123. https://doi.org/10.35074/GJ.2020.1.1.008. (In Russian).
16. Shchekochikhina, M. (2021). Issledovaniia inkliuzii i ikh vliianie na strategii razvitiia inkliuzivnykh programm v art-institutsiiakh [Inclusion studies and their impact on the strategies for developing inclusion programs in art institutions]. The Garage Journal: Studies in Art, Museums & Culture, 3, 16–51. https://doi.org/10.35074/GJ.2021.30.17.004. (In Russian).
17. Simon, N. (2010). The participatory museum. Museum 2.0.
18. Stevenson, N. (1997). Globalization, national cultures and cultural citizenship. The Sociological Quarterly, 38(1), 41–66.
19. Tarasenko, E. A. (2004). Sotsial’naia politika v oblasti invalidnosti: krosskul’turnyi analiz i poisk optimal’noi kontseptsii dlia Rossii [Disability policy: cross-cultural analysis and optimal conception search for Russia]. Zhurnal issledovanii sotsial’noi politiki, 2(1), 7–28. (In Russian).
20. Tönnies, F. (1912). Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft: Grundbegriffe der reinen Soziologie. K. Curtius.
21. Zhvitiashvili, N. Iu. (2020). (Mezh)kul’turnye kompetentsii v muzeinoi sfere: priglashenie k professional’noi i personal’noi refleksii [Intercultural competencies in the museum field: an invitation to professional and personal reflection]. In O. V. Sinitsyna, &, D. R. Khalikova (Eds.). Migratsii: priotkryvaia lichnoe: Sbornik muzeinykh praktik i rekomendatsii po rabote s temami migratsii, mobil’nosti i mnogoobraziia (pp. 28–38). Rossiiskii komitet Mezhdunarodnogo soveta muzeev (IKOM Rossii). (In Russian).
Review
For citations:
Dolgova E.M., Malofeeva M.V., Bolshakov N.V. Formation of inclusive communities with the participation of people with disabilities in modern Russian museums. Shagi / Steps. 2025;11(4):243-262. (In Russ.) EDN: RXWIQV
Views:
19
Email this article 