Study Tour for Inclusive Design in London

Imagining a world in which cultural facilities and institutions embrace inclusive design in their architecture, restoration, programming and education? Tantalizing! Inspiring! Difficult! But not...Impossible.

Last week, 18 of us traveled to London to be enlightened and inspired. Each of us came with a different set of skills - knowledgable in arts advocacy, accessibility or architecture; research, resources or relevance.  On a tour designed by Anita Walker of Massachusetts Cultural Council and Valerie Fletcher of the Institute for Human Centered Design, we traveled by bus to over 15 different museums, theaters and design schools and met with expert colleagues from London.

In many ways, the trip and what is to follow reminds me of the iconic London Eye---there are many bright lights on the way,  there are many stakeholders, and we may feel sometimes like we are going in circles - but we wlll aim high to get a new perspective.

Over the next few days,  i hope to express through words and pictures some of the experiences I had on the trip - the perspective of one who is new to the world of universal design but who has learned much in a week, and eager to learn more.

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