An interesting and thought-provoking session in Falmouth. We discussed what is a community; communities: those we belong to and the communities that Museums are for and those communities that are excluded from visiting Museums.
We listed communities such as work-based sports, those with similar life experiences, and more. Then we discussed some who might be excluded from museums perhaps because of their perception of who Museums are for, access challenges, or language.
Most Museums in Cornwall do not cater enough for locals rather than tourists because they are expensive and are closed during the winter. They do not recognise many people in Cornwall who have a visual impairment or are blind or those that use a wheelchair and those with neuro-diversity.
It was interesting to realise that after English the most spoken languages in Cornwall are Polish, Lithuanian and Portuguese because of the reliance of the agricultural sector on those who come to work in Cornwall. Yet there is little representation of this in our Museums.
There are many untold stories: such as the story of illness in students who came to Porthcurno and were sent all over the world to work and train others in telegraphy.
