The National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, DC has apologized to a visitor with a disability who was expelled from the museum on Saturday, July 22 for carrying a backpack in violation of its bag policy. The artist Celeste Tooth, who uses pronouns, took for Twitter to point out that the backpack contained medical supplies and to denounce what they saw as the museum’s decision to “stop hosting [their] disability.”
Along with other staff, Tooth, a student and teaching assistant at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), was leading a field trip of 16- and 17-year-old students earning credits at their Baltimore institution when an NGA worker arrested Tooth for carrying a bag over two shoulders. According to museum regulations, backpacks must either be checked or worn on one shoulder. Tooth says a security guard asked them personal questions about their disability in front of their students and was unresponsive to Tooth’s call for a compromise.
NGA spokeswoman Anabeth Guthrie said Hyperallergic that a security guard “offered assistance and multiple options for storing or carrying the bag in accordance with our inclusion and hospitality policy,” but Tooth did not agree to the proposed accommodations. Tooth alleged that they were asked to store their bags at the front of the institution and were told by the museum employee that they were “taking up too much time” and had to leave; then, security escorted Tooth out of the museum.
“It stinks of violent ableism to call a SECURITY OFFICER to escort me out of the building just because I need a medical bag,” Tooth said, further claiming that no one at the front of the facility told them to remove the bag and that they hadn’t had any problems carrying the backpack to the NGA in the past.
Tooth explained that their bag contains emergency medication that prevents them from having episodes that could lead to strokes, as well as other equipment, including epipen and catheters. Tooth said that after their third neurosurgery for lipomyelomeningocele spina bifida, their doctor told them to carry the bag on both shoulders so they wouldn’t fall. Tooth was accompanied by their service dog, Willow, who is allowed in the galleries under museum policy.
“It was humiliating to have visitors and my students watching me – on the verge of tears – being publicly excluded,” Tooth wrote. The teaching assistant said Hyperallergic that after being asked to leave, they informed the other MICA staff on site and the students were all accommodated, although some had difficulty getting to the meeting place.
The museum publicly replied to Tooth two days later on Twitter, saying he was “so sorry” to hear about their experience and announcing he was re-evaluating his bag policy. “Our goal is to create an inclusive and welcoming space for all,” the statement read. “And it saddens us deeply to learn that your experience does not reflect our values.” Guthrie said Hyperallergic the museum also communicated with Tooth via direct message.
In its public response, the NGA said it had sent the contact details of its Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Officer to Tooth via direct message and encouraged Tooth to share more details about the incident if they felt comfortable doing so.
“What other information would you like?” Tooth replied in a Tweeter. “May I suggest a paid meeting with you to discuss ways to make your museum accessible to people like me – considering how much time and emotional labor it has already taken of me as a disabled person.”
Tooth was inundated with positive responses as Twitter users expressed solidarity with the artist and criticized the museum’s actions.
This is not the first time that a museum’s enforcement of a bag policy has made visitors feel uncomfortable or excluded. In March, the Portland Museum of Art in Oregon asked a Native mother to to withdraw a traditional Karuk baby carrier, sparking outrage online and prompting promises to review baby carrier rules.
