International Museum Day 2014

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

How to relax on the weekend? Go to nature, go to the cinema, read a book at home … Lots of activities. But how often does a desire to visit a museum appear? And if so, when is the best time to do so? In order to at least once not even think about when and where to go, a holiday was created - International Museum Day. And it turns out that museums are not only naphthalene and silence. Today you can spend there with interest not only the day, but also the night.

Do you love museums as much as I do?

People are divided into two categories: those who like to visit museums, and those who cannot be driven there by force. As a rule, the second was not lucky in childhood. At school, they were forcibly taken on excursions, where an old grandmother, the guide, tediously minted the same words repeated over the years. The children were bored, they began to play pranks, they were scolded. And I had to stand, bowed down, and wait for when it would be possible to leave these endless halls, go out into the street and run. The second category of children, due to their natural curiosity, nevertheless captured the aura of the museum and was imbued with interest in the lecture. But, alas, as statistics show, there are still more of the former.

Perhaps this is one ofreasons that prompted the creation of the International Museum Day. But it was thanks to him that it became possible to show the world of museums from a different, not so boring and monotonous side. But first things first.

Such different museums

After spending time and money, having received a charge of boredom and dust, people are perplexed: “Who could be interested in this?” This, sometimes rhetorical, question is asked by unfortunate sightseers.

Here it would be useful to remember that museums appeared as early as 290 BC. And their history has not been interrupted, but on the contrary, it is actively developing. The word “museum” itself comes from the Greek “museum”, translated into Russian it literally means “house of the muses”. Initially, these were mainly some private collections. But over time, they expanded and changed. There was a need to expose them to the public. So from personal possessions they moved to public places. In the modern world, most of the museums are former private collections. Various motives encouraged people to collect and display them. But that's not important. It is important that now anyone can find a museum according to their taste and interests. Undoubtedly, such a long history only confirms the necessity and importance of museums for the modern world.

Today it is difficult even to imagine everything that visitors are offered to get acquainted with in museums. The expositions are so different that sometimes there is no limit to surprise. The thematic focus of museums extends from classical (historical,art and art history) collections to very unusual and extraordinary: food, erotica, torture and even, excuse me, feces. But no matter what exhibits of the exhibition attract visitors, they are all united by one common holiday - International Museum Day.

A trip to history

St. Petersburg is not just rich in museums. The historic city itself is like one huge museum. And in 1977, then still Leningrad, once again secured the very honorary title of the Cultural Capital of Russia.

This year Moscow and Leningrad hosted the 11th General Conference of ICOM (International Council of Museums - International Council of Museums). And it was on it, at the suggestion of the Soviet delegation, that it was decided to establish the International Day of Museums. The history of the holiday dates back to May 18, 1977.

Holiday theme

Every year, interest in the holiday increased. There were more and more people willing to take part in the events. And by 1992, it was decided to unite the entire museum community around one topic: "Museums and the environment." Since then, every year the founders of the celebration initiate a new and interesting theme, which all participants adhere to. International Museum Day 2014 was marked by the words: “Museum collections unite.”

And until this year, the organizers of the holiday have always tried to focus on current social problems. So, in recent years, the following topics have been chosen:

• In 2009 - "Museums and Tourism".
• In 2010year - "Museums for Social Harmony".
• In 2011 - "Museums and Memory".
• In 2012 – “Museums in a Changing World. New challenges, new inspiration” (in honor of the 35th anniversary of the holiday).
• Last year 2013 was devoted to the theme "Museums (Memory + Creativity)=Social Change".

Every year the holiday is getting bigger and bigger and gaining momentum. There are new members. And in 2011, a website was created, a slogan was invented. Congratulations on International Museum Day to workers in this field: guides, restorers, curators and caretakers on all continents of the Earth, in more than a hundred countries of the world.

Night at the Museum

The International Museum Day is officially celebrated on May 18th. But on the eve of this date, there is another, no less interesting event that is closely connected with it.

Since the 70s of the last century, European museums have introduced the tradition of "open doors" for visitors to popularize art. On such days, it was possible to view the expositions completely free of charge. The number of people wishing to visit the museum was so great that the working day had to be extended. This action was called "Spring in the Museum".

Later, in 1997, a similar event was held in Berlin at night. "Long Night at the Museum" - this is the name under which it went down in history. And already in Paris, since 2001, night visits to exhibitions have become a kind of festivities. When the International Museum Day could no longer fully satisfy the interest of everyone, visitors were helped by the "Night atmuseum.”

It is held on the night closest to May 18 from Saturday to Sunday. At this time, the doors of museums are open to everyone, who are presented with various programs, theatrical performances, lectures, and so on.

Moscow festival

International Museum Day 2014 was not without a "night" in Moscow. More than 250 museums of the capital of Russia opened their doors to visitors, who were about 300 thousand. In addition to stationary expositions, city sites invited visitors. For the first time, contemporary Russian and foreign artists and photographers exhibited there. Theaters presented new and already beloved performances.

Museum holiday in Belarus

One of the hundreds of countries participating in the International Museum Day is Belarus. In 2014, for the tenth time, the inhabitants of Belarus had the opportunity to celebrate the holiday. True, traditionally, most of the country's museums invited visitors to their place at night.

International Museum Day in Belarus was celebrated by about 130 museums of the country. Each of them presented an original unique program. Unfortunately, not everyone adhered to the tradition of free exhibitions, but this did not prevent residents and guests from enjoying what they saw.

One of the most interesting programs was presented by the Art Museum of Minsk. In order to get here, many people had to stand in line. But, as those who attended the event testified, it was worth it. At half past 12 at night, the Silver Wedding group performed in front of the audience. The exhibition halls offered various surprises, including an interactive installation based on the work of Chaim Soutine. And those who had the determination to stand in line got the opportunity to try to repeat one of the artist's many works using modern technology. The event itself lasted until 5 am. And this is just a drop in the sea of the variety that reigned at the festival.

A look into the future

Museums are not just old forgotten things. Museums are a kind of living organisms, the purpose of which is to strengthen the relationship between people around the world. These are the threads that connect the past, present and future.

The modern world is changing at a tremendous speed. And people simply do not have time to keep track of what is happening around. It is in this movement that the museum should remain a point that allows you to look back at the past, evaluate the present and believe in the future. Therefore, the relevance of such holidays as International Museum Day is only growing.