01 — Overview
Making Space for
Disability in museums.
We help museums, galleries, and cultural institutions design experiences that work better for everybody — across visitors, workforce, and storytelling. Disabled-led, human-centered, and built for sustainable change.
people globally have a disability
of purchasing decisions influenced
of Disabled adults visit museums
prefer brands that include them
Cultural & creative partners
02 — Beyond Compliance
‘Compliant’ isn’t the same as ‘welcoming’.
ADA compliance sets a floor, not a finish line. Most museums hit the minimum and move on — but only 11% of Disabled adults visit museums or galleries, compared to 21% of the general population. That gap isn’t inevitable. It’s the result of spaces that technically meet the requirements but were never really designed with Disabled visitors in mind.
More than 1 in 6 adults globally has a disability, and they don’t make decisions about where to go alone. They come with families, friends, and communities — and they talk. When a museum works for them, they come back and they bring people. When it doesn’t, they stop trying, and that reputation spreads just as fast.
The museums closing that gap are reaching an audience that has largely given up on cultural institutions, in a market where almost no one else is competing for it.
More than 1 in 6 adults globally have a disability.
World Health Organization
Disabled people influence over half of all purchasing decisions globally.
Return on Disability
of consumers prefer brands that actively include and represent Disabled people.
American Marketing Association
Brand preference is the strongest predictor of repeat visits, memberships, donations, and gala attendance. Accessibility done well isn’t just the right thing to do — for museums serious about community, growth, and relevance, it’s one of the most concrete levers they have.
Accessibility is the origin of innovation.
03 — How We Partner
Four pillars. One institution.
Designed to work together so progress compounds across visitors, workforce, and brand — not as separate accessibility add-ons.
— 01
Training & talent access
Disabled-led learning that builds real confidence across visitor-facing teams, hiring managers, and leadership.
- → Live, Disabled-led workshops on visitor interaction, sensory support, and access protocols
- → Self-paced courses on hiring, customer service, and disability awareness
- → Role-specific training for hiring managers, HR, frontline staff, and leadership
- → Talent sourcing from a 50K+ network of Disabled professionals
Opportunities — app.making-space.com — 02
Physical space & experience
On-site audits and inclusive design consultation across galleries, queues, sensory spaces, and wayfinding.
- → Pan-Disabled, intersectional on-site accessibility audits
- → Recommendations across seating, queuing, sensory spaces, and wayfinding
- → Visitor input on navigation and gallery experience
- → Innovation Council — a standing advisory group to sustain accountability
— 03
Digital accessibility
WCAG 2.2 AAA audits and engineer-to-engineer remediation across websites, ticketing, and exhibit UX.
- → Audit of website, ticketing, and exhibit UX/UI against WCAG 2.2 AAA
- → Disabled user testing with real assistive tech
- → Live audio description integrations (Be My Eyes, Meta Glasses)
- → Embedding accessibility into ticketing, booking, and pre-visit comms
— 04
Marketing & brand
Disability-inclusive comms, authentic representation, and storytelling that earns trust with Disabled audiences.
- → Review of website and social content for accessibility, clarity, and inclusion
- → Guidance on Disabled representation across campaigns and creative
- → Co-developed disability-focused storytelling and campaigns
- → Accessibility embedded into brand guidelines, creative processes, and KPIs
04 — What It Looks Like
What accessibility beyond compliance actually looks like.
A working catalog from real museum engagements — none of this is required by law, and all of it is what visitors notice.
- — 01
Elevators redesigned as intentional, art-integrated experiences — not functional boxes
- — 02
Ramp + stair hybrids that double as gathering spaces, eliminating the experiential divide
- — 03
Changing Places facilities (ceiling hoist, adult changing bench) far beyond standard ADA restrooms
- — 04
Tactile flooring as a permanent, design-integrated wayfinding system
05 — Case Study · The Broad
The Broad, Los Angeles.
A museum experience designed to be truly accessible and inclusive for all visitors — physical and digital — reflecting The Broad’s commitment to equity, innovation, and community engagement.
Objective
Enhance accessibility across The Broad’s existing spaces and future expansion plans while maintaining the integrity of its artistic vision and visitor experience.
What we did
- → In-person training and role-specific courses (Inclusive Hiring for HR; Supporting Disabled Guests for frontline staff)
- → Comprehensive on-site accessibility audit + Expansion Review and Inclusive Design Consultation
- → Focus groups with Disabled visitors and community members
- → Digital accessibility audit and collaboration with Disabled engineers on fixes
- → Formation of the Innovation Council
- → Inclusive brand and communications guidance
- → Implementation of live audio description with Be My Eyes and Meta Glasses
- → Introduced haptic experiences for Deaf and hard-of-hearing guests — translating sound and atmosphere into vibration so the work lands physically, not just visually
- → Reimagined the gift shop for sensory-friendly hours and introduced sensory kits (ear defenders, fidgets, visual guides) — free to use for any visitor at The Broad, and also available for purchase in the shop for anyone who wants to take a kit home
- → Designated on-floor Accessibility Specialists with advanced training
~10% → 96%
Staff confidence supporting Disabled guests, pre- vs. post-training
Outcomes
- → Improved visitor experience for Disabled audiences, their friends, and families
- → Higher visitor return rate — Disabled guests and the people they bring with them are coming back, and coming back more often
- → Established lasting internal processes, tools, and training for sustainable accessibility
- → Informed the design of The Broad’s future expansion with accessibility at the forefront
- → Inclusive language in ticketing lets visitors self-identify needs without disclosure
- → Elevators and ramps redesigned as art experiences — accessible routes that feel intentional
06 — Methodology
Five-stage methodology and maturity model.
We benchmark where you are today across five stages — from Informal awareness to Optimal integration — and map a credible path forward up the accessibility maturity spectrum below.
Maturity model
- L1Informal
- L2Defined
- L3Repeatable
- L4Managed
- L5Optimal
— 01
Discovery, benchmarking & audits
Stakeholder interviews, document review, pan-Disabled audits, and focus groups that locate you on the maturity model and surface what visitors and community need built.
- → Leadership and staff stakeholder interviews
- → Pre-engagement analysis of internal docs, hiring collateral, and visitor-facing materials
- → Baseline placement on the L1–L5 maturity model with rationale
- → Custom scenarios and examples grounded in your institutional context
- → On-site physical audits with pan-Disabled consultants across wayfinding, seating, sightlines, sensory spaces, and emergency procedures
- → Digital audits against WCAG 2.2 AAA with assistive-tech user testing (screen readers, voice control, switch)
- → Focus groups with Disabled visitors and community members
- → Expansion and renderings review — accessibility considered before construction, not after
— 02
Co-design – strategy & prioritization
A written report with prioritized, costed recommendations — separating quick wins from capital-cycle work — and a live presentation to leadership.
- → Accessibility report with actionable recommendations across physical, digital, staff, and brand
- → Technology advisory: captioning, audio description, sensory tools, wayfinding, Be My Eyes integrations
- → Prioritization framework — quick wins vs. medium-term vs. capital-cycle investments
- → Live presentation of findings to leadership and project sponsors
— 03
Implementation roadmap
Engineer-to-engineer for digital remediation, staff training, and an Innovation Council that keeps accountability alive after the consultants leave the room.
- → Collaboration with in-house engineering and UX/UI teams on remediation
- → Live, Disabled-led workshops for frontline staff, hiring managers, HR, and leadership
- → Curation and set-up of an Innovation Council — a standing advisory group of Disabled experts
- → Communication templates, accommodation procedures, and event accessibility checklists
— 04
Knowledge transfer & legacy
Embed accessibility into ongoing operations through refresher training, governance, and a documented case study so the work outlasts any single project.
- → Twice-yearly in-person staff refresher workshops on evolving language, neurodivergence, and new tools
- → Published case study and concept note suitable for peers, funders, and sector citation
- → Strategic press positioning and executive talking points around accessibility leadership
- → Pathway toward a Gold Standard Museum Accessibility Certificate — beyond compliance
07 — Outcomes
What success looks like.
Measurable change across cultural institutions, broadcast, and live events — drawn from real engagements, not benchmarks.
Increase in staff confidence supporting Disabled guests — from 10% pre-training to 96% post-training.
The Broad
Increase in producer and crew confidence around inclusive hiring and accessibility.
NBC Paris Olympics
Views on a marketing campaign with authentic disability representation.
Virgin Media
Wheelchair user in space, plus accessibility workshop for the airline and space industries.
Blue Origin
08 — Team
The experts behind Making Space.
- — 01
Keely Cat-Wells
CEO & Founder
Disability rights advocate and founder of Making Space. Recognized by TIME, Forbes, L'Oréal Paris, and the Obama Foundation. Previously founded C Talent (acquired). Forbes contributor and Presidential Leadership Scholar.
- — 02
Dan Edge
Head Disability & Access Consultant
Award-winning multidisciplinary consultant and access specialist. Works across events, media, and technology, bringing lived experience, cross-sector insight, and advocacy to projects that drive systems-level change.
- — 03
Pool of SMEs
Subject Matter Experts
A trusted network of pan-Disabled, intersectional subcontractors across disciplines. Lived experience, cultural competency, and professional expertise to scale impact, tailor solutions, and ensure authentic representation at every level.
09 — Contact
Let’s make space together.
Whether you’re mid-expansion, planning a new exhibition, or rebuilding access from the ground up — tell us where you are and we’ll meet you there.