A Holistic and People-Centered Approach to Accessible Exhibition Design: Walker Art Center Case Study

The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis developed a holistic, people-centered set of guidelines for accessible exhibition design, moving beyond legal ADA compliance. The project involved collaboration across curatorial departments, artists, d/Deaf and disabled staff and community members, and the Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD). The guidelines were created in three stages: identifying the need, drafting and revising, and implementing, with strategies including cross-departmental working groups, targeted interventions for bottlenecks, shared terminology, and embodied learning for staff.