Riverside Museum opens UK's first display dedicated to wheelchairs
January 2015
Riverside Museum, Scotland's Museum of Travel and Transport, has opened a new, trailblazing display, focusing on the technological advancement of the wheelchair.
Co-curated with a diverse group of users, the exhibit concentrates on 'ordinary' wheelchairs as a mode of transport and the impact design improvements have had on users, from a usability and social perception perspective.
The majority of museums in the UK that feature wheelchairs exhibit them as single objects. They are often viewed as abstract works of art or a representation of a political theme. Alternatively, where a chair is displayed in its own right it is usually part of a wider display or featured because it is a very unusual or expensive design.
Riverside Museum recruited a group of wheelchair users to co-curate the display to ensure it accurately reflected the wheelchairs' impact on those who use them. Together they selected four chairs, which span almost 100 years in time and technological development, chosen from twenty-four wheelchair related objects in Glasgow Museums' Collection. The group chose schools as the key target audience, developed the key theme, 'the chair doesn't define the person', wrote panel text and participated in a film, which forms a key part of the display.
Alex Papanikolaou, a wheelchair user who co-curated the display, said: "Museums are usually a place people go to learn about the past. I think Riverside is leading the way in showcasing modern displays. It has engaged the community of Glasgow and made a great effort to not only find out about the history of mobility and wheelchairs, but also to give people a real view of what it's like to be a wheelchair user today. This is an excellent initiative and has produced a display that is both a history lesson and an insight into life from a disabled user's point of view, I think many people will be able to relate to it and learn from it. I have really enjoyed working with the Riverside team and I'm delighted to see the display open for others to enjoy."
Councillor Archie Graham, Chair of Glasgow Life, explained: "We receive a great deal of positive feedback about our regular display changes at Riverside. Having the option to showcase wheelchairs as a mode of transport gave us the opportunity to explore a previously under-researched area and showcase less-frequently displayed objects. We couldn't have done it without the wheelchair users, they've been fantastic. The group spoke about how children are often more open to people with different mobility needs, because their awareness of such things is better now than it was in the past. I hope that the wheelchair display will act as a catalyst for conversation and contribute to that understanding."
The wheelchair display is now open at Riverside Museum, situated between the Albion bus and Tram No. 1089 on the ground floor.
Image: Keith Hunter
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