On the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, the Institute (Zaprokul), with the support of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, presents a research of national importance “Culture of accessibility: research on the accessibility of museums and galleries in the Republic of Serbia”, which will be held December 6, at 11 a.m., in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade – Miodrag B. Protić Hall (Ušće 10).
For the first time, the research included all museum institutions in Serbia – 97 museums and galleries, as well as 36 associations dealing with the challenges of people with disabilities, with the idea that as a modern society we must pay much more attention to the issue of accessibility in the field of culture.
The research shows that 61.4% of museum institutions rate themselves as partially accessible, and 24% perceive their institution as inaccessible for people with disabilities. When it comes to physical accessibility, data shows that 57.5% of institutions are not physically accessible for visitors who have some kind of disability. For example, when we talk about the interior space, only 14.4% of institutions have a toilet adapted for people with disabilities, and only 9.4% have an elevator that can be used by people with disabilities. In 59.8% of museum institutions, the stairs are not properly contrasted and handrails are not installed.
The presentation of the results is intended for employees in museums and galleries in Serbia, as well as the general public, through an interesting interactive workshop led by researchers Zaprokula, Marijana Milankov, Bogdana Opačić and Bojana Subašić.
As the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia recognizes equal access and availability of cultural content to all citizens as one of its strategic tasks, Danijela Vanušić, Assistant Minister of Culture for Cultural Heritage and Digitization, will give a welcome speech, and Marijana Kolarić, Director of MSU and Marko Krstić, Director of Zaprokul will also address.
After the workshop, the Museum of Contemporary Art prepared a special curator’s guide through the exhibition “Unreliable Narrator”, one of the most important contemporary sculptors and cartoonists, Mrđan Bajić, for all participants of this event.
Zaprokul will continue a series of events dedicated to the theme of cultures of accessibility. On this occasion, the exhibition ART DIALOG, author and famous artist Božidar Plazinić, will be opened in the Zaprocula Gallery in the period from December 2 to 13, as an example of an innovative artistic approach in achieving communication with socially sensitive groups.
