As part of the policy of cultural democratization led by the Ministry of Culture and Communication, the award «Heritage for All» Since 2011, it has been an excellent approach in terms of widespread accessibility for people with motor, visual, hearing or mental disabilities in cultural establishments that welcome the public.
The “Heritage Award for All” rewards museums, monuments, archives or other heritage sites for their achievements in compliance with the disability standards of the built environment, innovation linked to an approach of access and use for all, of mediation favouring the autonomy of individuals, and of mixed audiences.
For this fifth edition of the Prize, Fleur Pellerin, Minister of Culture and Communication, in the presence of Ségolène Neuville, Secretary of State for Persons with Disabilities and the Fight against Exclusion, welcomed the commitment of the award-winning institutions, more generally, all public institutions under the supervision of the State or local authorities, in favour of access to culture for all.
The 1st «Heritage for All» Prize, for the category of establishments belonging to local authorities, was awarded to the Departmental Ceramics Department of Lezoux (Puy-de-Dôme) which receives 20,000 euros. This museum actively supported by the Departmental Council of Puy-de-Dôme has made accessibility for all audiences its trademark. Recently, it welcomed for several months an intergenerational group composed of sixteen people with health problems or very socially isolated to promote access to cultural practice.
The 2nd prize was awarded, ex-aequo, to the Quimper Museum of Fine Arts (Finistère) and the Fabre Museum in Montpellier (Hérault), each of which received 15,000 euros. The Quimper Museum of Fine Arts is committed to a policy of widespread accessibility in order to promote the understanding of works by all audiences. Its teaching room “Secrets d'atelier” is emblematic of this commitment. The Fabre Museum in Montpellier, meanwhile, has a very complete access to the built environment and welcomes nearly 1,500 people with disabilities every year. Since 2010, it offers a programme of visits and workshops adapted to each disability for individual visitors.
The jury also awarded a special mention to the Picasso Museum in Antibes (Alpes-Maritimes) without a budget allocation. Located within the Grimaldi castle, this museum is now accessible to people with reduced mobility thanks to a major renovation carried out in 2008. Each year, it receives around 1,000 visitors with disabilities, a quarter of whom are invited to take part in specific micro-projects on artistic and cultural practices.
In the category of state institutions, the Minister awarded their degrees to two institutions. The National Archives (Paris and Pierrefitte-sur-Seine sites) have been praised for their participation in various research projects aimed at improving access to resources and knowledge for all. The National Museum of Sport in Nice, which is part of the Ministry of the City, Youth and Sports, has been distinguished for its policy of mixing audiences in the cultural offer and its presentation of the disciplines of handisport within the museum.
The jury, which met on October 5, under the chairmanship of Vincent Berjot, Director General of Heritage, attended by the main associations of persons with disabilities and civil society, and the Ministerial Delegate for Accessibility, Marie Prost-Coletta, stressed the very high quality of all the applications. He wanted to associate the winners of the 2014 edition with the winners: the Château de Saint-Mesmin, the Museum of Natural History of Toulouse and the Museum of the Castle of Mayenne, as well as the Museum of History of Nantes - Castle of the Dukes of Brittany for a special mention.
For all French people to participate in cultural life, we must ensure that cultural life makes room for everyone. Everyone must feel included. I see this as an essential issue, one of social justice and national cohesion. The "Heritage for All" Awards show that nothing is impossible for anyone who wants to make cultural places ever more accessible to people with disabilities. All those working in this direction can count on my support."