Life between the worlds

What does everyday life look like for people with and without disabilities? Are many things the same or do they live in separate worlds? Ten university students set out to find out - and designed an interactive exhibition. It's a detail that's easy to overlook: The flyer on display at the Institute of Material Culture at the University of Oldenburg invites visitors to a barrier-free travelling exhibition. Low-barrier - not barrier-free? "No," says Nina Ahokas, a member of the student exhibition team: "We're not sure whether accessibility can exist at all." This idea is also reflected in the title of the exhibition that recently opened at the Schlossmuseum Jever: "Between two worlds - people with and without disabilities tell their stories". Ten students from the interdisciplinary Master's programme "Museum and Exhibition" spent more than a year preparing the show. The degree programme, which is run by the Institutes of Material Culture, History and Art and Visual Culture, teaches how objects and other carriers of meaning can be preserved and appropriately staged. The curriculum actually only envisaged the creation of a theoretical exhibition concept - to mark the 50th anniversary of the non-profit organisation Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft für Paritätische Sozialarbeit Wilhelmshaven, or GPS for short. "But the deeper we delved into the project, the more we realised that we really wanted to do the exhibition," says Rahel Achterberg. The students were not only supported by Hon. Prof. Dr Antje Sander from the Institute of History and Dr Stephan Huck, Director of the German Marinemuseum, as supervising lecturers, but also by representatives of GPS Wilhelmshaven and the Schlossmuseum Jever. The result is an interactive exhibition that appeals to several senses: visitors can hear, see, touch and even smell the topic. From a loose idea to an exhibition concept The students completed most of the tasks on their own. They developed a supporting exhibition concept from the loose idea of "We're doing something about disability", met with people in the GPS workshops and residential groups, conducted dozens of interviews, created flyers and even designed the furniture for the exhibition themselves. "It's our baby from top to bottom," says Eileen Carstens with pride. Now, just a few days before the opening, she and her fellow students are at the castle museum almost every day. Among other things, they are preparing the exhibits, most of which are interactive. They are also using spirit levels and cordless screwdrivers themselves. "I wouldn't have thought beforehand that there was so much involved in an exhibition. It really is a coordination effort that shouldn't be underestimated. Everyone is needed," says Felix Otte. His fellow student Maja Dreyer took away from the project the realisation that an exhibition organiser has to delve incredibly deeply into the subject matter - especially in a social context: "Sometimes it wasn't so easy to tease out from our interview partners exactly where the shoe pinches. A lot of sensitivity was required." The practical design of the exhibition also required particular sensitivity: for example, how can the topic of barriers in road traffic be presented for the visually impaired? What needs to be considered when writing a text in plain language? People with disabilities have their say The show is divided into five sections: history, education, work, housing and leisure. It is about inclusion, discrimination, barriers and participation. How do people with disabilities perceive their everyday lives? What has improved over the past 50 years - since the GPS was founded - and where does something still need to be done? "We don't want to make an exhibition about people with disabilities, but with them. That's why we let them have their say," says Christina Freund. That's why they have also planned a corner for spontaneous conversations. Their exhibition should not just be a nice show, but also a place of encounter where fears of contact can be broken down. The exhibition "Between Two Worlds" at Schlossmuseum Jever is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm up to and including 1 May. Admission is free. Other venues for the travelling exhibition are Varel, Wilhelmshaven and Westerstede. The students are reporting on the "Between Two Worlds" project in a blog and on Facebook.