Safe Access: Promoting Wellbeing for Diverse Researchers

Safe Access: Promoting Wellbeing for Diverse Researchers aimed to better understand the representation burden and impact on wellbeing experienced by marginalised people who engage professionally with museums, heritage organisations, and their collections. The project has been led by Cornwall Museums Partnership (CMP) and Queer Kernow.

The delivery of this work was supported by the expertise and lived experience of Queer Kernow, a non-profit community organisation which exists to challenge intolerance through education and outreach, connecting Cornwall’s current LGBTQ community with their past, and celebrating the rich, fascinating world of queer Cornish history.

Safe Access focussed on the experience of people working with museums and heritage organisations in Cornwall but its development and application is something we know to be of national relevance.

The below document is the outcome of our first phase of research through which we gathered rich qualitative data by interviewing 8 people, mostly non-salaried professionals such as freelancers and artists. These interviewees represented the experience of people from marginalised communities including; queer, trans, disabled, neuro-diverse, and Cornish ethnicity. The ultimate aim of gathering and analysing this data is to develop a richer understanding of the challenge to best inform the development of a framework or process which better protects individuals in the future.

Safe Access Project Report

The below video highlights some of the key experiences of the participants we interviewed for the Safe Access research project.

Footage shot by Fran Rowse