ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the development of an exhibit entitled Patient No More: People with Disabilities Securing Civil Rights that opened in 2015 in Berkeley, California, a city long-associated with activism, and especially disability activism. It argues that —on ethical, political, cultural, and financial grounds—for museums to move beyond approaches that rely on a limited, narrow idea of access, one shaped largely by compliance with the law. The chapter describes the museum interactions with disabled people can be re-cast to benefit everyone. It suggests that the simple act of making access for all central to the exhibit development process can be considered activist, as it requires museums to embody, and seeks to build external support for progressive values. The chapter describes Patient No More, outlines some challenges and opportunities, and analyzes the exhibit experience to offer some conclusions about disability, activism, and museums.
