Promoting Exhibit Access and Safety (PEAS) is a specialty working group based at the Smithsonian that seeks to optimize public access, preventive conservation, and security to provide a safe environment for visitors and promote collections preservation.
PEAS was formed in 2020 by museum professionals with a shared interest in finding multidisciplinary solutions to detrimental interactions, defined as any incident where an individual engages with an exhibit and harms themselves, others, or a collection item. PEAS membership includes specialists in architecture, collections, conservation, exhibit, security, risk management, and visitor services from various institutions and organizations that connect to international, national, regional, local, and tribal audiences. This wide array of disciplines represents the various specializations responsible for and dedicated to the care and management of collections.
The working group strives to provide a platform for challenging conversations and collaborative solutions to detrimental interactions through:
- Collecting and compiling data on visitor interactions with exhibits to gain insights into visitor behavior.
- Researching and reviewing new methodologies to protect collections on exhibit, enhance public access, and cultivate behaviors that promote collections care.
- Offering interdisciplinary expertise, advice, and resources to those seeking to improve visitor safety and the protection of collections on exhibit.
- Promote and advocate for the implementation of proven strategies within the field.
Research
In 2021, PEAS surveyed attendees at four cultural heritage conferences to get a broader perspective on what institutions are already doing at the intersection of access and safety. Nearly three-quarters of survey respondents said their institution had experienced challenges with detrimental interactions. This confirmed our assumptions that, like many PEAS members, our colleagues nationally and internationally face issues of balancing preservation and access. Respondents also shared an assortment of strategies used to prevent detrimental interactions. Some of the most frequently cited strategies included signage, display cases, physical barriers, and gallery attendants.
Resources
PEAS has compiled a bibliography of scholarly resources on topics related to exhibit access and safety, drawn from different perspectives and disciplines and grouped thematically. Resource categories include collections and conservation, exhibit design, risk management, security, and visitor experience and education.
Focus Issue: Promoting Exhibit Access and Safety
In collaboration with Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals, the group published articles discussing multidisciplinary approaches to exhibit access and safety in a special focus issue to reflect on current practices and offer practical solutions and effective methods for ensuring the safety of collections and the public.
Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals
Volume 20, No. 2 | June 2024
Focus Issue: Promoting Exhibit Access and Safety: Guest Editors’ Foreword
Promoting Exhibit Access and Safety (PEAS): Reflections on Conference Surveys
The Molina Family Latino Gallery: A PEAS Case Study
Challenges Requiring New Thinking in Museum Security
The Problem of Compromise in Conservation and Exhibit Decision Making
A Collaborative Conservation Perspective: Ensuring Preservation, Access, and Safety in Exhibits
Defensible Collections: Designing a Safe Exhibit Space
A Collaborative Approach to Hazardous & Contaminated Collections Conundrums
The Wheel Is Already Invented: Planning for the Next Crisis
Accessibility and Exhibit Safety: The Importance of Sensory Maps
Promoting Exhibit Access and Safety (PEAS): Listening and Learning Sessions
PEAS is co-chaired by Jeffrey Hirsch (Hirsch Culture Works), Cali Martin (SI-NMAI), and Samantha Snell (SI-NCP).