British Museum to Provide Bayeux Tapestry Audio Tour After Lawsuit
Yusuf Ali Osman, a man with no sight, filed a suit against the museum under the UK's anti-discrimination Equality Act.
The British Museum will provide audio tour options for its Bayeux Tapestry exhibition after a blind patron pursued legal action against the London institution last week, according to the BBC.
Yusuf Ali Osman, a man from Croydon with no sight, accused the museum of violating the Equality Act 2010 by not offering audio tours of the exhibition, his legal representatives said in a statement shared with Hyperallergic. Under the Equality Act, which is the central anti-discrimination law in Great Britain, individuals are protected against acts such as ageism, ableism, and racism in the workplace and in other environments.
The museum had allegedly told Osman that the exhibit prioritized self-guided visits over programmed tours due to its restricted visitor capacity. To avoid light exposure damage to the millennium-old work, the museum must limit the number of people who can enter the gallery.
"I want to be able to visit the Bayeux Tapestry and experience it for myself," Osman said in a statement shared with Hyperallergic. Apart from damages, he seeks a declaration from the museum acknowledging its discrimination against him, and an order requiring policy amendments and disability awareness training for museum staff.
