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Museums, galleries, and heritage sites, along with the many wild, weird and wonderful organisations that make up the UK’s vibrant cultural sector, have a unique role to play in shaping the landscape of our communities. Yet it is a sad fact that how much a person engages with these experiences is often connected to their financial background, even when opportunities are free to access.
Creating cultural institutions that are accessible and inclusive for all members of the community, including those from low-income backgrounds, can be a challenge. The Poverty Proofing© team at charity Children North East have spent over a decade speaking to thousands of people who live in poverty about the barriers they face to accessing public services and spaces and working with organisations to help them remove those barriers. In the last few years, they have worked with a large number of cultural organisations, including Northern icons BALTIC and Sage Gateshead, helping them ‘Poverty Proof’ their experiences.
In this article, the Poverty Proofing© team share some practical suggestions on how your organisation can remove the barriers to access and promote opportunities for everyone to enjoy the benefits of your work.
The Poverty Proofing© process is not about making changes to the business model or ambition of an organisation but making space to immerse teams in the audience experience and asking the right questions. How does a person with limited resources feel during an experience? What is the minimum a person needs to comfortably participate? In line with this approach, a lot of our guidance is posed as questions, which offer something to reflect on, or even take to your teams.
The cultural sector has historically played an important role in not just offering education but improving the quality of life for so many and we hope these Poverty Proofing ideas may offer a new way of thinking about the next chapter in that story.
Museums can sometimes feel intimidating, particularly for those who have limited experiences of attending them and some people may feel they don’t belong. Exploring how you can create an environment that feels welcoming and inclusive to everyone is a great start to a Poverty Proofing journey. Some practical actions you can take include:
Everybody gets hungry and on-site eateries are a great way for venues to add to a visit. However, it can be a pinch point for those who know that their funds won’t stretch to catering from the venue, impacting their ability to stay as long as they would like or even encouraging them not to come at all. Those with young children will recognise the experience of juggling different hungry stomachs away from home.
There are many small ways you can promote an inclusive experience and that starts with how you help people plan their visit. From transport to transparent pricing, the information you give people and the way you give it to them can influence their expectations for the day.
Here at Children North East we talk about Poverty Proofing as a journey, rather than a one size fits all solution and any organisation reflecting and exploring how people living in poverty may engage with you is a brilliant first step. We also encourage every organisation to consider that the key to understanding the real experiences people have is by listening to them, because those with lived experience are best placed to inform real, meaningful solutions.
If you are interested in learning more about Children North East’s Poverty Proofing© services and how they can help you achieve your goals for inclusive, accessible services and activities, you can visit their website or get in touch with Poverty Proofing Lead Lorna Nicoll at lorna.nicoll@children-ne.org.uk
Fresh ideas from museums around the globe in your inbox each week