We’ve supporting the exhibition design development for ‘Design and Disability’ at the V&A

We’re delighted to announce that The DisOrdinary Architecture Project has been commissioned by the V&A Museum in London to work with the in-house exhibition team at the museum to creatively design more accessible and inclusive shows.

The first show we’re exploring is an exhibition planned for the Porter Gallery in 2025, titled ‘Design and Disability’ and curated by Natalie Kane. Design and Disability is disability-led exhibition, with Kane herself identifying as disabled and supported by a strong disabled advice group.

The collaboration follows on from a successful interactive session with the V&A exhibition team earlier this year, led by DisOrdinary Architecture’s Jos Boys and Mandy Redvers-Rowe, and will kick off with four workshops led by the pair. Each of the workshops will open-ended and discursive, but will be centred around 1. Layout and navigation, 2. Resting spaces, 3. Different forms of engagement, 4. Object handling and 5. Access Infomation (both advance and in-situ information).  Each workshop will include an additional guest disabled creative, including: Helen Stratford (Artist/Architect), Chris Laing (Founder, Deaf Architecture Front), Abi Palmer (Artist) and Natasha Trotman (Designer).

Keep your eyes on this page for updates on the project.

Want to learn more ahead of the project? We recommend Natalie Kane‘s recent piece ‘Pandemic Objects: the Door Handle’, which dives into some of the initial conversations around the topic - including the contradiction of objects designed for disabled people by non-disabled designers, that fail to take notice of diverse disabled perspectives and actual lived experiences.

Read Pandemic Objects: the Door Handle here.

Image: "Victoria and Albert Musuem" (c) Metro Centric