Events

Throughout the Curating for Change project our partner museums are hosting exhibitions and events designed by Curating for Change Fellows and Trainees reflecting their discoveries in museum collections.

Current and upcoming events

Karl Mercer - Go as you Please exhibition

Go as you Please

The National Railway Museum
9 February – June 2024

An exploration of rail travel from the perspectives of people with lived experience of D/deafness, disability and neurodivergence.

Curating for Change Fellow, Amy Thraves-Connor, and a local disability co-production group brought their own lived experiences to the National Railway Museum’s collections of railway marketing posters and artworks from the past century. They’ve helped to select the objects on display and have given their own interpretation of each artwork, as well as interpreted objects of their choosing in North Shed, the museum’s open store.

Find out more about Go as you Please.

Dressing Disability poster. Pink background with block coloured clothes graphics.

Dressing Disability

Thackray Museum of Medicine
29 November – 26 October 2024

Curated by Amelia Silver, Curating for Change Fellow at the Thackray Museum, in collaboration with poet and model Enas Saeed, and fashion influencer Lucy Jane, the display explores self-expression, identity, and representation, through conversations about disability aids, accessible clothing, and participation in the arts.

Find out more about Dressing Disability.

Nothing Without Us: Experiences of Disability poster

Nothing Without Us: Experiences of Disability

Pitt Rivers Museum
16 November – 31 May 2024

Nothing Without Us is a co-produced gallery trail that shares the lived experiences of disabled people, their stories revealed by objects in the Pitt Rivers Museum. 

In the summer of 2023, the Museum’s Curating for Change Fellow, Kyle Lewis Jordan, led a group of co-producers in researching disability across multiple times and spaces. Their questions grew from asking how disabled people lived throughout time, to interrogating how the objects capture the experience of disability itself. Their ideas covered themes of Form and Function, Precarity and Violence, and Care. 

We invite you to reflect on how such experiences have not only shaped their lives, but have a deeper connection and meaning that matters for all of us.

A Trail Booklet and Large Print Guide are available both on-site and available to download from the website. Audio description and BSL interpretation are in production – to be accessible online and via NaviLens codes in cases across the Museum – aiming to be published in early 2024. An Easy Read guide is also in production with community consultants, and is scheduled for delivery by February 2024.

Find out more about Nothing Without Us: Experiences of Disability.

Fashioning Bodies in the Ancient World

Ashmolean Museum Oxford
10 November – 8th May 2024

In this display, Kyle Lewis Jordan – a disabled Egyptologist who specialises in the study of disability in antiquity – looks at objects from the Ashmolean’s Antiquities collections, exploring what they can tell us about disability in the ancient past. All originating from some of the earliest sites in both Egypt and Mesopotamia, these objects not only provide direct evidence of the presence of disabled people, but also illuminate a world in which ancient peoples were actively acknowledging and responding to anxieties about their bodies.

This case was curated by Kyle, who is our Curating for Change Fellow at the Ashmolean Museum and Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford. The display features an exterior tactile element, allowing you to get up close with the ancient Egyptian god Bes, who is also featured in the display. Audio description and BSL interpretation are in production, aiming to be released in early 2024.

Find out more Fashioning Bodies in the Ancient World.

Concealed/Reveal: Disabled, D/deaf and neurodivergent artists driving creativity

Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
From 30 September 2023 to 14 April 2024

Throughout galleries and museums, disabled, D/deaf and neurodiverse experiences have been concealed. This new exhibition at Bristol Museum and Art Galleries Concealed/Reveal exposes these hidden stories and challenges preconceptions. Featuring artists such as Henri Matisse and local stories like performer Patrick Cotter O’Brien, it highlights how disability can be a creative force and questions why the experiences of disabled people are socially stigmatised.

It has been curated by Curatorial Fellow, Jo Barlow, and Curatorial Fellowship Assistant Freya Purcell, and produced with Curating for Change. Throughout the exhibition you can access an audio described tour through headsets. As well as further audio description through QR and Navilens Codes.

Now closing on 14 April 2024.

Find out more about Concealed/Reveal: Disabled, D/deaf and neurodivergent artists driving creativity.


Past events

Concealed Reveal exhibition poster. The poster is pink with the exhibition title and partner logos. There are also images of paintings and photographs from the exhibition.

BSL Tour – Concealed/Reveal

Bristol Museum and Art Gallery
27 January 2024 / 23 February 2024

Join us for free BSL tours of the Concealed/Revealed exhibition on 27/01/2024 and 23/02/2024. Jemima Buoy leads a fantastic 1 hour tour of the exhibition highlighting the work of Disabled, D/deaf and neurodivergent artists in the collection. This is a BSL tour and there are no voice-overs. Tickets are free but you must book a space. Spaces are limited so please book your ticket now.

27 January FREE tickets / 23 February FREE tickets

Assistive Technology: What it means to us exhibition poster. 14 November - 14 January 2024. Text includes museum information. Images included 7 logos of related organisations, an image of a mechanical arm and 2 portraits.

Assistive technology: what it means to us

Museum of Liverpool
14 November – 14 January 2024

In this display in the Museum of Liverpool atrium, local disabled people explore their relationship with assistive technology – items that are specially adapted to make lives more accessible. Discover how people feel, or have felt in the past, about their assistive technology. How has it changed over time and how much choice do D/deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent people really have about the assistive technology they use? Does assistive technology always make the world more accessible?

This display was curated by Curatorial Fellow, Iris Sirendi with support from Museum of Liverpool Curatorial.

Find out more about Assistive technology: what it means to us.

The words Stored Out of Sight over a selection of items from the exhibition

Stored out of Sight: Hidden History of Disabled People

Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
From 16 September 2023 to 16 December 2023

Disabled people have always been part of history, but their stories have often been in the background. This exhibition has curated by Jack Guy, Curating for Change Fellow, and co-produced with a disability heritage engagement group from Hastings. The exhibition explores objects hidden in the store that relate to Hastings’ disability past. Through these stories and those of contemporary activism, the exhibition highlights the social and environmental barriers that disable people daily.

Watch a short film about Stored out of Sight: Hidden History of Disabled People here.

Find out more about Stored out of Sight: Hidden History of Disabled People and to listen to the audio description introduction here.

Iris smiling at the camera

Beyond the label: disability history talk

Museum of Liverpool
25 November
2023

Join Museum of Liverpool’s Curatorial Fellow, Iris Sirendi, for a look into the fascinating yet often hidden stories of disability history and heritage in the museum collections. Explore the diverse stories of disabled people throughout Liverpool’s history, from the changing ways in which we lead our everyday lives, to some of our sporting stars. Learn where we can find disability history on display in all of the collections, spanning across the decades all the way up to the modern day. From social history all the way to sports, politics and even transport, find out how we are working to uncover the rich histories of D/deaf, disabled, and neurodiverse Liverpool lives.

Free event – book tickets online.

Late Night: after dark poster

Museums Late Night: after dark

Pitt Rivers Museum & Museum of Natural History
24 November
2023

Experience the Pitt Rivers Museum and Natural History Museum after dark with an evening packed with exciting activities hosted by researchers, creatives, community groups and staff.
Join us in the Pitt Rivers Museum for a programme of activities to mark Disability History Month and the new Curating for Change trail in the museum, Nothing Without Us: Experiences of Disability. This event has been programmed with Curating for Change fellow Kyle Jordan and a team of local co-producers.

Free event – book tickets online.

Exhibition poster for On Shoulders of Giants. An image of the Dockyard with multiple notable figures photoshopped on the top layer.

On Shoulders of Giants

The Historic Dockyard Chatham
From 21 October 2023 to 19 November 2023

“On Shoulders of Giants” explores the forgotten voices in Disability History and has been created by our Disability History Focus Group 2022/2023.

The Disability History Focus Group, in conjunction with Curating for Change (CfC), embarked on a groundbreaking project in November 2022 to delve into the rich tapestry of disability history within our extensive collections, buildings, artefacts and people’s individual stories/histories.

Find out more about On Shoulders of Giants.

The words Stored Out of Sight and the Hastings Museum logo, with a background of images from the exhibition.

Touch Tours of Stored Out of Sight at Hastings Museum

Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
30 October

Go behind the scenes of the Stored Out of Sight: Hidden History of Disabled People exhibition for a tactile tour of items from the exhibition. This includes the opportunity to touch 3D printed versions of items in the exhibition. The tour will be led by members of the museum’s curatorial team, including Jack Guy, Curating for Change Fellow.

Illustration of Billy Waters on the docks by some boats.

Illustration of Billy Waters on the docks.

Dockyard Talks: Billy Waters

The Historic Dockyard Chatham
30 August 2023 / 14:00

Free with a ticket to the Dockyard

Join Suchi Chatterjee, Curating For Change Fellow as she discusses Billy Waters, an African American residing in Georgian England. He became famous in his own right when he busked in London, but his naval career was forged in Chatham.  Billy is just one example of Chatham’s hidden stories that are waiting to be told.

Well known in the history books for his life as a busker in London where he wooed the crowds outside the Adelphi Theatre with saucy songs such as “Kitty Will You Marry Me” and other street favourites.

His time as a non-disabled seaman who served on the HMS NAMUR under the command of Jane Austen’s youngest brother Charles is an overlooked piece of history, and the fact he reached the rank of Gunners Mate before becoming disabled is nothing short of a miracle due to his race. Billy was severely injured in an accident aboard HMS GANYMEDE. This resulted in him becoming an amputee.

Find out more about Dockyard Talks: Billy Waters.

Image credit Museum of London

Curating for Change Sector Forum

How can induction, mindful line management and career development practice enable D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people to thrive in their museum careers?

Building on the success of our first sector forum and action plan for equitable recruitment in the museums sector; “We Are Not All the Same”, our next 2-part forum focuses on retaining disabled talent within the museum workforce.

Part 1: Re-framing induction processes for D/deaf, disabled and neurodiverse staff.
Wednesday 19 April 2023
11.00-12.30, free, online conference
This event has now passed but you can watch the event videos here

Part 2: What does it take for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people to thrive in their museum careers?
Wednesday 14 June 2023
11.00-12.30, free, online conference
This event has now passed but you can watch the event videos here

Kyle Lewis Jordan, Curating for Change Fellow at The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Bring Baby Lecture: Disability in Ancient Egyptian Myth.

Tuesday 14 February at The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

As part of The Ashmolean’s new “Bring Baby Lecture” series, join our Curating for Change Fellow, Kyle Lewis Jordan (Ashmolean Museum and the Pitt Rivers Museums, Oxford) as he explores themes of disability in Ancient Egyptian myth and literature, using objects from the Ashmolean’s collections to help tell the stories.

Through exploring these stories, Kyle aims to demonstrate how disability has been a universal experience throughout human history, and how many ancient cultures – like the Egyptians – recognised those differences and how we may begin to understand the many nuanced feelings they had towards them. Through doing so. Kyle believes we can begin to understand not only how disability was reacted to, but also how it has helped actively shape cultural understandings of the world in many different times and spaces.

The “Bring Baby Lecture” series is aimed at new parents or carers with babies under 12 months (although older children are welcome) who wish to still partake in cultural events. This space provides them the opportunity to do so in a baby and toddler-friendly space.

exterior of Ashmolean with doric columns

One World Family Festival 2023

The Ashmolean Museum’s annual One World Festival, is a free weekend of events celebrating Oxfordshire’s many diverse communities and faiths. As part of the many events taking place our Curating for Change Fellow, Kyle Lewis Jordan will be running a number of activities, including a discussion on the intersection of disability and faith, from his conversations with disabled members of Oxfordshire’s faith communities and his research into the disability histories present in the Ashmolean’s collections.

You can find out more about the One World Family Festival 2023 and download the events programme here.

Extra.Ordinary: Disabled voices in MERL’s collections

Community case exhibition: Until January 2023 at the Museum of English Rural Life, Reading

This exhibition case, curated by Curating for Change Trainee, Verity Shillabeer, explores and celebrates the identity and culture of disability, especially in rural communities. During her Traineeship, Verity has investigated objects that amplify disabled voices present in The MERL’s collections. This exhibition seeks to showcase those collections and reveal the powerful and personal stories of disability which connect. This exhibition has been developed as part of The MERL’s involvement in Screen South’s Curating for Change project: a mentored training programme for deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people. This initiative aims to transform and make museums more inclusive, addressing the lack of representation of disabled employees in the sector. The MERL is thrilled to be one of twenty organisations taking part.

Explore the online exhibition on the Museum of English Rural Life here.

Level 3 Gaming Festival

11 – 12 November, the Glassworks

FREE – book here (NB, now finishing at 5pm on Saturday)

An event from our friends at the Hi3 Network – the Level 3 Gaming Festival is happening 11th & 12th November at the Glassworks. It’s a two-day event exploring and celebrating a range of games & virtual experiences created by and for autistic, learning disabled, & neurodiverse people, and is open to attend by all.

Engage with playable artworks, participate in accessible workshops, experience VR installations, and attend talks and panels with the artists. This workshop’s outcome, in combination with others by Level 3 in Brighton and Hastings, will be used to create an evolving communal artwork, and the festival itself used as an opportunity to improve upon the accessibility of playful media.

Edward Rushton, by Philip Garrett, Courtesy of the Museum of Liverpool

Edward Rushton Display

Tuesday 22 November 2022 – Thursday 5 January 2023 at the Museum of Liverpool

For Disability History Month 2022, the Museum of Liverpool is displaying a bust of Edward Rushton, founder of the Royal School for the Blind in Liverpool

The large bronze bust of Rushton is accompanied by a smaller tactile model of his head and face, along with a standing panel of text information with a smaller braille sign. The display is not audio described.

The display was developed in part by the museum’s Curating for Change Curatorial Fellow Iris Sirendi as her first project with the Museum of Liverpool.