The British Museum (BM) will introduce an audio-described tour of its Bayeux Tapestry exhibition after a man with visual impairment took legal action against the institution. Yusuf Ali Osman, from Croydon in south London, alleges that the museum breached the Equality Act by not offering audio-described tours of the blockbuster exhibition which opened last month.
Osman, who is registered blind, says in a statement from his law firm Leigh Day, released on 30 September: “I want to be able to visit the Bayeux Tapestry and experience it for myself. I understand that there are important restrictions around how the tapestry is displayed, but it is disappointing to find that blind visitors are not being offered an audio-described way of experiencing it.”
Kate Egerton, a discrimination solicitor at Leigh Day, says in the statement that “our client is asking for the same opportunity as sighted visitors to experience this exhibition”.
According to Osman's solicitors, he first contacted the museum in July to enquire about the availability of live audio-described tours ahead of the exhibition opening. “The museum subsequently confirmed that audio described tours would not form part of its current programme,” the statement reads, ”explaining that restrictions on the number of hours of light exposure permitted on the tapestry each week limit the number of visitors who can enter the gallery”.
A pre-action protocol letter was sent to the BM on 24 September, according to the statement. Osman is “seeking damages, a declaration that he has been discriminated against and an order requiring the museum to amend its policies and ensure relevant staff receive disability awareness training,” it adds.
According to the BBC, the BM has now said that an in-person audio-described tour of the tapestry would be held, and that an audio-described tour may be added to the exhibition's app. A sensory map and dedicated tours during the exhibition run, which will include the audio-described tours, are also to be available.
A BM spokesperson says in a statement that the museum is “committed to making the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition as accessible as possible and has worked with specialist access consultants to inform the exhibition experience”. The museum also confirmed that further accessibility offers are being “explored”. According to the dedicated exhibition page on the BM's website, current accessible resources include a large print guide designed for visually impaired visitors.
A spokesperson from Leigh Day tells The Art Newspaper that they have not received official communications from the BM regarding any policy changes, and are therefore “keeping the action under review”.
