Folding stools in the gallery.

Submitted by a member of the public to Te Papa on Thursday, 10 May 2018

“Hi, I’d like to draw Te Papa’s attention to people with medical problems who don’t fulfil the usual criteria of ‘disabled’. Well, I say I’d like to but you folk got there first!

I personally look like any other person but one of the (many) medical problems I have means that if I stand still for too long my heart beats like Phar Lap going for gold and I hit the floor (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia). It makes viewing art in galleries a test of endurance and often removes a lot of the joy. I often sit on the floor but I am a shy person and it makes me uncomfortable.

Therefore today I was overjoyed to see stools on offer in the Toi Art exhibition. I honestly missed up. I was already proud of Te Papa as our National Museum and now I am doubly so. Thank you from me and from everybody in the NZ support group I belong to. Te Papa really does treasure the past while reaching to the future.”

In 2013 the Friends of Te Papa donated 40 folding stools to Te Papa. They are a wonderful asset especially during floor talks in the gallery. Since Toi Art opened, 20 of the stools have been placed on hooks in various locations in the galleries. This great feedback shows how much the stools are valued for comfortable viewing.