Access

English Heritage and the Trussell Trust have announced a new initiative to provide free days out for people who access food banks. 

Following a successful pilot scheme last summer, people on the lowest incomes will be able to receive a voucher for a free visit to their local English Heritage site alongside their emergency food parcel.

More than 100 food bank centres in the Trussell Trust network and 25 English Heritage properties across England will be taking part in the 2024 partnership. 

English Heritage sites participating in the 2024 scheme include Stonehenge in Wiltshire, Osborne—Queen Victoria’s seaside home—on the Isle of Wight, Corbridge Roman Town on Hadrian’s Wall, and Clifford’s Tower in York.

Nick Merriman, English Heritage’s Chief Executive, said: “As a charity, one of our key aims is to ensure that as many people as possible can enjoy the great historic sites in our care. 

"And although we’ve seen our visitor and member numbers increase, we know that for some, the opportunity of a day out is simply out of reach. 

"We’re really delighted to be teaming up with the Trussell Trust to help those who are often most in need of some time out with their family and friends.”

The offer will be valid until 3 November 2024 and is available to anyone receiving emergency food and support from one of the participating Trussell Trust food banks.

The British Museum has announced plans to digitise its collection in response to the stolen artefacts scandal that has embroiled the institution.

A five-year plan to digitise the museum’s collection and make it available online will help “improve security”, according to the museum's Interim Director, Sir Mark Jones.

Appearing before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on Wednesday (18 October) he said:  “It is my belief that the single most important response to the thefts is to increase access because the better a collection is known - and the more it is used - the sooner any absences are noticed.

"So that's why, rather than locking the collection away, we want to make it the most enjoyed, used and seen in the world.”

The process of digitising the collection is already underway and involves the uploading or upgrading of 2.4 million records. 

The British Museum’s Chair of Trustees, George Osborne, said the organisation had been “victims of an inside job” when around 2,000 items from its collection were revealed to be missing in August, leading to the dismissal of a Senior Curator. 

“There are lots of lessons to be learnt," said Osbourne. "We have changed our whistleblowing code, changed our policy on thefts... tightened up security on thefts." 

The museum has also announced plans for enhanced access to study rooms, where members of the public and academics can view items from the collection by appointment.

Osbourne revealed that the museum will acknowledge the thefts in an exhibit of the missing items, 350 of which have been recovered so far. 

A new describing art guide aims to support art galleries and museums to make their collections more accessible for blind and partially sighted people.

The guide was launched by Sight Loss Councils (SLC) and funded by the Thomas Pocklington Trust. It was developed by East Sussex SLC in collaboration with Zoom Arts and Royal Collection Trust.

“Blind and partially sighted people also enjoy accessing art and museums. However, this can often be inaccessible to us,” said Iris, a member of East Sussex SLC and a volunteer.

“This is why we are working alongside arts organisations to make this happen. 

“We hope that our resource will enable staff to better understand how they can describe art with confidence to someone with sight loss and that it’ll break down some of the barriers about communicating with blind and partially sighted people.”

She hopes the guide will encourage galleries and museums to actively promote their ability to offer audio described tours.

Amy Stocker, Access and Inclusion Manager for Royal Collection Trust, said the resource “should make people much more confident when communicating with blind and partially sighted people”.

“Hopefully this means more vision impaired people will have access to art and engaging with arts and culture,” she added.

New research will explore how access to music and live events for disabled people can become more environmentally sustainable.

Julie’s Bicycle, Attitude is Everything and A Greener Future are calling on disabled, artists, audiences, volunteers and professionals to participate in a survey looking at how accessibility can be more considered in environmental initiatives.

“Disability access must be a key part of how we design climate solutions and orient our world towards justice. It is the embodiment of care and solidarity in practice,” said Farah Ahmed, Climate Justice Lead at Julie’s Bicycle. 

“We are really excited to be partnering with Attitude is Everything and A Greener Future to develop the tools and resources the sector needs to engage with accessibility as a core principle for environmental action.”

The research will be used to create a toolkit for the music and live events sectors, containing practical solutions and case studies. 

The first edition is to be published in early 2024.