Inclusivity
The Rijksmuseum connects people with art and history. As a national museum, we consider it our responsibility to be a museum where visitors feel represented and at home. This is a place that does justice to the diversity of stories in society. With our exhibitions, programs and collection, we want to provide scope for reflection and dialogue. In this way, we aim to contribute to the awareness and interconnection in society.
The Rijksmuseum takes the added value of diversity as its starting point. Employee diversity is used to benefit the organization as well as the quality and wide variety of its collection, exhibitions and programs. The diversity and inclusion policy is shaped by applying the Diversity & Inclusion Code on the basis of five ‘P’s: programs, partners, staff, public and products.
Program
- Working group ‘Women of the Rijksmuseum’, including exhibitions, acquisitions and symposiums.
- International tour of the Slavery exhibition at United Nations.
- Adapt text signs on colonial past as a continuation of the dialogue on Slavery history.
- Programming accompanying exhibition on insects from an Islamic perspective (2022).
- Programming for young adults via Rijksmuseum Next, Rijksmuseum Soundtracks and collaborations with partners such as Museumnacht and Amsterdam Dance Event.
- Offering programming on pink history as a part of Pride Amsterdam and Queer History Month.
- Since 2015, the Terminology Working Group has been working on more inclusive descriptions of objects and terms in the field of accessibility.
- Low stimulus evenings for people who emotionally sensitive to stimuli during a museum visit.
- Guided tours for people with visual and hearing impairments.
- Publication and congress named 'Unlimited Accessible' (2022).
- Programming for special needs education.
Partners
- In the field of accessibility, we work together with organizations such as Museum Plus Bus, Zonnebloem, Bartimeus, the municipality of Amsterdam as well as various sounding board groups,.
- Launch of podcast series 'Kunstluister' about art and meaning, in cooperation with our main sponsor Philips.
- Night Watch on Tour and Closer to Vermeer (replica paintings sent to nursing homes, made possible by Philips, Elisabeth Art Foundation, Rijksmuseum Fonds and Pon.
- Launch of teaching materials for VMBO and MBO students on the impact of the colonial past in the present, in cooperation with our education partner Thieme Meulenhoff and the Indisch Remembrance Centre.
- Presentation 'Zwart Goud' (2022), in the Teekenschool and Amsterdam City Hall, opened by mayor Femke Halsema,by pupils of VMBO school Bindelmeer college in the Bijlmer in collaboration with AiR!ch, LAMN, FAES and Rijksmuseum.
- Since 2019 a part of Musea Bekennen Kleur
- In 2021, the Rijksmuseum signed the Charter Diversity with accompanying obligation to report on its diversity & inclusion policy.
Staff
- Since 2019, the museum has a Diversity Manager in addition to a Manager on Accessibility.
- Working towards objective and standardized recruitment & selection, by collaborating with specialized recruitment & selection agencies, as well as structurally applying the Roony Rule in selection.
- Working towards an inclusive museum through inclusive leadership training programs, cross-mentoring program, inclusive terms of employment, diversity & inclusion ambassadors and annual activities.
- Participating in annual Diversity Day of SER Diversity in Business.
- Annual diversity & inclusion reading club organized by and for employees.
PUBLIC
- Research into reaching new audiences as part of the exhibitions Slavery (2021) and Revolusion (2022).
- Exhibitions in cooperation with. Audiences, such as 'Long Live Rembrandt'.
- Making inclusion an integral part of all educational programs.
Products
- Broadening and sustainability enhancement of the range of store assortment to meet the needs of a variety of visitors.
