It’s been quite a week and I wanted to end it with a little thread on how we shouldn’t be scared of big change in our museums and we shouldn’t assume our communities will find it a hard sell. [1]

Firstly, the visitors most scared of change, or who fear that a more equitable world will see them lose out, will be the loudest in the first instance. Some of them will come round, some of them have a fixed position and it’s a hill they are willing to die on. [2]

But big change is often the thing non-visitors in your community have been waiting for. Change that makes your museum suddenly safer, more inclusive and more inviting. Things that will make the museum a place for them [3]

This week we sent out a social media post on what we thought decolonisation meant for museums like ours. It was picked up by the local press and has generated a huge amount of fruitful discussion. We even included an email address in case anyone wanted to message us privately [4]

As well as loads of comments on social media from people who either felt uncomfortable in our museum or never visited before because the content and context worried them, we’ve had a bunch of emails from people showing their support for change. [5]

So if you are working in a museum and making big changes, trust your visitors to come with you and don’t be pressured into pandering to what it is assumed they (probably white, middle class, middle aged visitors) want. Because your community needs you and will surprise you. [end]