I'm interested to hear from museums that have re-examined their coat and bag check policies using a DEIA lens, especially considering the potential for biased and discriminatory implementation of the policy (e.g. people from marginalized communities being targeted while others are not).
How do you balance (and explain) the responsibility to mitigate potential damage or loss to objects on display with ensuring that the policy is not discriminatory?
Is it a matter of DEAI training for staff to ensure non-discriminatory implementation or have you relaxed your policy requirements?
Our current policy requires oversized bags (we define these as 25x30x25" or larger) be checked at the coat check and we address accessibility by allowing oversized bags required for medical conditions. These are tagged at the coat check so the person is not asked again while in the gallery.
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Lisa Quirion
Canadian Museum for Human Rights
Winnipeg MB
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