An Interview with Annalena Knors on Inclusion Consulting for cultural Institutions

This is the transcript of the podcast. The text was smoothed out with the help of ChatGPT. All typos and inaccuracies are mine.

I'm speaking with Annalena Knors, an advisor on inclusion in cultural institutions.

Domingos: Welcome to a new podcast about digital accessibility. Today I have a special guest: AnnaLena Knors is heavily involved in the field of inclusive cultural design, especially in museums. But she'll tell you more about that herself in a moment. First of all, thank you very much, Annalena, for taking the time for this podcast.

Annalena: You're welcome! I'm really looking forward to our conversation.

Domingos: Perhaps we can start by introducing yourself to the listeners.

About Annalena

Annalena: With pleasure. My name is Annalena Knorrs and I work freelance as a museum consultant. About six years ago I became self-employed in this field and since then I have been supporting cultural institutions, especially museums, in improving their accessibility in front of and behind the scenes. I see this topic as a holistic cross-sectional task that should also be seen as a management task. My goal is to make museum visits plannable and enjoyable for as many people as possible - and in the best case scenario, visitors will then recommend the museum to others.

Domingos: You have a visual impairment. Can you tell us a little about it?

Annalena: I have a genetic eye disease, but it only becomes noticeable from about 8 to 9 years of age. Until then, I had normal vision, so to speak. This eye disease is progressing step by step. At the moment I can still see light sources well, be it natural light sources or lamps in a room. I can still perceive large-scale contrasts, for example the difference between grass and sky outside. So I'm not completely devoid of perception at the moment.

Domingos: Ah yes, okay. How did you get into the topic of museums?

Annalena: That's a question I'm often asked, because many people associate museums mainly with visual perception - that is, with looking at pictures, paintings and works of art. I've been interested in museums and culture in general for a long time, so I studied cultural studies. During my studies, I didn't initially have a particular focus on museums, but for my bachelor's thesis I wrote about a topic that deals with the combination of museums and fine art for blind people. That was my start in delving deeper into this area.

After a few internships and initial experiences in the museum sector, I decided to delve even deeper and studied museum management and museum communication for my master's degree. There I then focused on management and accessibility. At the same time, I always enjoyed visiting museums - both privately and as part of my studies. It was a very practical course of study in Berlin, where we were able to visit many museums and come into contact with museum experts.

During my studies, I was occasionally able to work as a consultant or give workshops. I also worked in museums on the side and discovered how much I enjoyed it - especially accompanying museums. So after my studies, I decided relatively quickly to continue in this field.

Better to be self-employed than employed

Domingos: You became self-employed instead of working permanently in a museum. How did that come?

Annalena: I decided to just try being self-employed - and I haven't stopped yet.

Domingos: Yes, that's worth mentioning, because it's relatively unusual for blind people to choose to be self-employed. Most people choose to work in the public sector or get involved in self-help. Your decision to be self-employed is unusual, at least in my experience. Did you take this step to have the opportunity to look after various museums?

Annalena: Mhm, exciting, I haven't really thought about it that much yet. But yes, there are several aspects. Firstly, the high level of flexibility that self-employment offers me - especially when it comes to choosing projects. If the whole thing is viable, I am very lucky to be able to decide whether I accept a project or not and whether I really stand behind it. That is very important to me personally in my work and I really enjoy this flexibility.

I also notice the effects of my decisions very quickly - both the positive and the negative. That's what I like about being self-employed, even if it sometimes brings with it a certain nervousness when there are fluctuations in orders. A big advantage of being self-employed in relation to my disability is the opportunity to design my own workspace. Especially in the cultural sector, many employment relationships are still very precarious, often with time-limited contracts.

After my master's degree, the next step would have been a so-called traineeship, which usually lasts two years. This is a type of short training course, but is often only paid half the salary. Originally, the traineeship was intended for people entering the museum sector from other fields, but the field has now become so professionalized that there are specialized courses.

For many, the traineeship is the next step after studying to gain a foothold in the museum sector. However, you often have to be very mobile and flexible and get by on relatively little money. In my case, also in relation to my disability, this was a decisive reason for choosing self-employment. It is more difficult for me to quickly settle into a new place, get to know the work processes and find my bearings. If the employment contracts were also temporary and I had to move frequently to take on the next job, that would make me uneasy. Being self-employed gives me more control and security.

Annalena's consulting activities

Domingos: Yes, what exactly are your tasks when you advise museums on the topic of inclusion? What questions do museums come to you with, and how does such a consultation usually work? That is probably very individual, of course, but perhaps you can describe it in general terms.

Annalena: Mhm, yes, that's true, it is actually very individual, and that is actually what characterizes all projects. Every museum is very different - be it in terms of sponsorship or size. There are large, more government-run museums, but also very small, volunteer-run museums. There are over 7,500 museums in Germany, which means the highest density of museums in the world. There really is everything, from the museum for additives to the currywurst museum, and of course the large art and cultural history museums.

Inclusion is the umbrella term for my work, but this term basically covers everything. It's about looking closely: who is our audience, or who would we like to have as an audience? What accessibility can we make possible with our resources? This first step is often detached from the topic of accessibility or disability. It's about developing an understanding of how we relate to our audience and how we define it. What content do we have that should be interesting for everyone, and how do we create access to it?

When it comes to the concrete implementation, we get very detailed. For example, if it is decided that someone with a hearing impairment should be able to plan and enjoy the museum well, then induction loops are necessary or good information provision on the website, as well as suitable conditions in the event room.

Accessibility is part of a larger strategy that also includes aspects such as multilingualism or family friendliness. My job is to accompany this process - both by keeping an overview and helping to align the objectives with the current situation, as well as with the concrete implementation.

I am currently more concerned with larger, multi-year projects, such as the redesign of permanent exhibitions, which often takes several years. I usually do not work alone, but rather team up with other freelancers. For example, I am not particularly well-versed in structural or technical issues - that's where other experts come in. I concentrate more on conceptual and overarching questions, workshops and strategies.

But there are also small mini-projects that focus on, for example, the development of an app or specialized audio description for a project. The tasks can be very different.

Cultural institutions as avant-garde in inclusion?

Domingos: Mhm, what I find interesting is that museums are often considered avant-garde when it comes to inclusion - that is, pioneers. Not all of them, of course, but I think many.

Annalena: You mean in comparison to other institutions?

Domingos: Exactly, in comparison to other institutions. I once spoke to a colleague from Finland, Eeva Rantamo, and she said that museums in Germany, Finland and Scandinavia in general are further ahead when it comes to inclusion.

Annalena: Yes, that's an interesting question. Perhaps it also depends on how accessibility and the big issue of inclusion are viewed. Many museums are publicly funded or are supported by us as a community. This often creates not only the task but also the desire to be accessible to as many people as possible.

I think that museums and cultural institutions are often quite inventive in this respect - creativity plays a big role. On the other hand, they are sometimes somewhat bureaucratically structured and therefore a bit sluggish.

There really is a wide spectrum. I also find the business sector very exciting and think that museums could be even more inspired by it. There are some companies like DM, Ikea or Apple that analyze very precisely who their users are and who they could be and tailor their offerings accordingly.

In many commercial companies, the topic of inclusion is often located in a higher-level department that deals with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Diversity is recognized and actively promoted. Inclusion here means being open to as many people as possible, while equity takes the pragmatic approach of translating this into concrete measures. I find that very inspiring.

Are museums pioneers? There are definitely many museums in Germany that do inspiring work. But I also know that in Scandinavia, especially in Finland, a different level is reached.

It is true that accessibility really has many dimensions. I would say, buildings, what you just mentioned, the exhibitions. But also the issue of digital accessibility and linguistic accessibility, i.e. easy, simple language, sign language. At the same time, however, you have to say that many institutions have very limited resources.

Domingos: How do you advise institutions with very limited resources?

Annalena: Mhm, yes, that is a very good point. I have to admit that at the moment I unfortunately have little contact with smaller institutions, which I would really like to have, because I believe that a great effect can be achieved there. I often work with larger institutions that can afford process support or museum advice. But sometimes it doesn't take much - often a short impulse is enough to achieve a lot.

Recently, I have also had experiences with digital seminars, some of which were offered free of charge. These seminars not only served to impart knowledge, but also to promote exchange. One seminar that I particularly remember dealt with service design. In small teams, we spent two days working intensively on the service design of a specific facility, focusing on accessibility and giving honest feedback.

The so-called "shadowing" was also part of the process, in which we digitally observed how users navigate a website - where they find helpful information and where they might fail. I also visited one such facility, a small cultural center in Bremen, in person after the seminar. It was impressive to see how much has changed with simple means. I was particularly impressed by the pragmatic solutions on the subject of mobility.

The cultural center is located in a former school building, and although you can get in with a walker, stroller or wheelchair, there are some challenges. They quickly shot a video with a smartphone or tablet that shows what the situation is like on site. This allows visitors to decide in advance whether they feel comfortable visiting, for example if the toilet is in another wing of the building.

Small measures or decisions like this can have a big impact. In your podcast, you often talk about topics such as contrast and font sizes. There are great tools that can be used relatively intuitively if you know what is important. With this knowledge, even small institutions with a small budget could make sensible decisions. They are often more agile and do not have to coordinate as intensively, for example on questions of corporate design.

Domingos: Yes, since we are talking about digitization. My impression is that many institutions are not very far along on the topic. Is this impression misleading and how is digital accessibility set up?

Annalena: That is a very good question. I also have the impression that there is a broad spectrum. Maybe it also depends on whether people are even aware that this need exists, both in the analogue and digital areas, and whether they are prepared to familiarise themselves with these topics.

Last year I had a pretty crazy experience. When it comes to digital, I'm more of a user and not necessarily deeply rooted in specialist knowledge. But last year I was able to take part in an awards ceremony called "Digamus". Every year, digital offerings from museums are recognised in six categories, such as websites, social media, strategy or games. As a member of the jury, I had to deal intensively with the shortlist, which included around six offerings per category.

That was really great because I had the opportunity to look at a lot of things and get an overview. But what was particularly exciting: in five of these categories I did not have sufficient access to be able to fully use the services as a blind person.

Local networking makes sense

Domingos: Do you actually have any experience with whether museums can network locally, for example with disabled people's associations, disability representatives or associations such as blind associations or the hard of hearing association?

Annalena: Yes, that's a really good tip. It's a great way to simply establish contact and ask: "Are you coming to the museum? Would you like to come by?" A conversation like that can have a big impact. Museums then often recognize that people with disabilities have very different perspectives and needs. It's a wonderful opportunity to make contact and also for clubs and associations to get to know the work of museums better. So the exchange works in both directions.

What I also find very charming is to generally spread participatory offers more widely. This applies not only to special requests to associations for the blind or hard of hearing, but also to other projects that are not necessarily related to accessibility. For example, a museum could collect objects from the pandemic period and ensure that such calls and events are designed to be barrier-free. The newsletter and social media activities should also be barrier-free, and it makes sense to specifically address associations such as associations for the blind and visually impaired. That is truly inclusion in practice.

In terms of accessibility, it is also important to have good contact with one another. I think that only then are you motivated to give constructive feedback. For example, you could say: "Hey, I find the content of your museum super exciting, but due to my disability I was not able to use everything fully. It would be great if we could perhaps find a solution." This creates a good relationship between the museum and the public, and of course people with disabilities are also part of the public - or could be.

Domingos: Yes, thank you very much. I think you are not that active on social media, but you are still easy to follow, right?

Annalena: Yes, that's true. LinkedIn is actually the only social network where I am a bit more active. I am always happy to network and exchange ideas, and it is also a good way to reach me.