Appropriate adjustments that allow access to cultural institutions are defined in legislation, the benefits of accessibility are proven by psychological research that shows a positive impact on human personality development, and finally, full integration into society through visiting cultural institutions is also a human right. Due to various reasons, the adaptations of the built environment are reduced in many places. In my master's thesis, I therefore wanted to explore the extent to which museums and theaters are accessible to wheelchair users in practice.
With two companions in an electric wheelchair, we checked the accessibility of fifteen institutions, of which nine museums and six theaters in the area of the first zone of Ljubljana's passenger traffic. I used the method of systematic observation and conversation with employees based on ten research questions, which I adjusted for the needs of the research based on the Guidelines for Good Practice.
With the use of the questionnaire, I then formed a scale of accessibility assessments, which refers to the level of independence at the time of the visit, and concluded the analysis by placing the institution in one of four categories with recommendations and comments from companions.
According to the scale, I found that three museums are fully accessible, two almost fully accessible and three partially accessible, in two it is also recommended to guide the exhibition, and one museum is inaccessible to wheelchair users due to the architectural features of the building. Three theaters are fully accessible, two almost fully accessible and one partially accessible, with attendance at performances alone being not difficult in any of them. In general, wheelchair users will not encounter insurmountable obstacles when visiting cultural institutions, and the enabled independence of the visit varies from institution to institution.
|
