Promoting Exhibit Access and Safety (PEAS): Listening and Learning Sessions

Abstract

In 2021, the Promoting Exhibit Access and Safety (PEAS) Working Group surveyed attendees at four cultural heritage conferences to get a broader perspective on institutional processes and procedures at the intersection of access and safety. Nearly three-quarters of survey respondents said their institution had experienced challenges with detrimental visitor interactions (DVI). Respondents also shared an assortment of strategies used to prevent such interactions, such as signage, display cases, physical barriers, and gallery attendants. In 2023, PEAS conducted a series of discussion sessions with museum professionals from across North America to better understand these strategies and their effectiveness. The sessions followed a structured list of questions that were designed to build upon the results of the survey and elicit open and transparent conversations. The following article is a summary and analysis of those discussions.