Overview

The In Plain Sight exhibition is on at Wellcome until 12 February 2023. I am a regular visitor to Wellcome and love how accessible they are but this time they have really excelled themselves. This exhibition comes with tactile paving and Wellcome are keen for feedback about this as they are considering introducing it for other future exhibitions. The In Plain Sight exhibition is also fascinating, fun and engaging. Well worth visiting.

Transport & Parking

The Wellcome Collection is centrally located on Euston Road and almost opposite Euston Station. Also nearby are Euston Square and Warren Street Tube Stations. The nearest step free tube station is King's Cross. There are a number of buses that stop very close by. I travelled on public transport to get there and it was only a 2 minute walk from getting off the bus.

Access

There is step free access throughout the building by lifts and platform lift. In Plain Sight exhibition until 12 February 2023 At the entrance there are guides available in large print, braille, digital, BLS and regular guide books. Throughout the exhibition there is tactile paving with small squares which mark out where an exhibition item is. Throughout the exhibition there are hand signs indicating that you can touch the item. All the videos have captions. There is some seating throughout the exhibition including at every video, however the seating was often already occupied. It wasn't until you got to the far end of the exhibition before I found any seating which was not next to a video. This bench had arms but low, minimal back support and another seat was circular. I hope for future exhibitions the seating is more spaced out and has better back support. At one place there was a brown, raised cable which my crutch hit and reported this to staff when I left. The accessibility throughout the exhibition is excellent and the tactile paving very impressive. Object is Stereo exhibition until 23 April 2023 This is a smaller exhibition where you can view objects in 3D by using a view finder. I was part of the access group which looked at making the exhibition accessible. The view finder is easy to hold. The images are displayed with space for wheelchair users. The instructions how to use the view finder has images of a wheelchair user. Fascinating exhibition and some beautiful and striking 3D images. The Healing Pavilion until 23 April 2023 Small exhibition looking at museums' artefacts and the impact of colonialism in their collections. There are 2 large tapestries and there is seating. People are encourage to reflect on the images. Visitors are welcome to enter the space without their shoes but it is not compulsory. There are audio meditations to help you reflect on what you are seeing. A very thought provoking but calming exhibition. Three fascinating accessible exhibitions to visit. The shop has recently reopened after its closure at the start of covid. The cafe continues to occupy a large space.

Toilets

Accessible and Changing Rooms toilets are clean, spacious, with grab rails and emergency cords with Euan's Guide cards.

Staff

Staff were so welcoming, friendly and helpful as usual. In the restaurant I had help with carrying my food from the counter to my table. Great service. When I feedback about the cable in the In Plain Sight exhibition, the member of staff acted on it promptly and agreed to follow it. Staff acknowledge and welcome you as you come into the galleries and makes it feels a comfortable and inclusive space.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Wellcome are on top form when it comes to accessibility and have given the current exhibitions a lot of thought about how to make them inclusive. I've never seen tactile paving in a museum/ gallery before and I hope this will continue and other venues will follow suit. Thank you Wellcome we had a fabulous day and stayed until it closed. We really enjoyed ourselves.

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