Last year, the most read text uploaded on our website was the trailer for the Night of European Museums. In 2022, a similar summary was the third most read article. That alone is worth spending a few hours compiling the various information provided by the various museums. It is also worth going on an evening walk that will surprise even museum enthusiasts who have seen everything. This year, the day when museums will open their doors only in the evening is May 18.
As it is written in the press release of the Association of Lithuanian Museums, the European Museum Night action initiated by the French Ministry of Culture for the 20th time will take place this year on the evening of May 18 – International Museum Day. Lithuanian museums will offer more than a hundred free activities throughout the country. “It is a beautiful coincidence that this year the European Museum Night will take place on the International Museum Day. The theme and slogan for the year 2024 proposed by the International Council of Museums, ICOM, “Museums for learning and exploration” perfectly reveals the rapidly changing concept of the museum in the modern world, when it moves from storage to active connection with the community. This is achieved through engaging educational activities and attractive communication. You don’t have to look far for examples – the Museum Night events are unique in their content, and the unconventional environment is surprising, so it’s definitely worth taking a look at the program and participating in the annual event already loved by many”, says Marius Pečiulis, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Lithuanian Museums.
One of the reasons for visiting the Night of Museums is the general festive atmosphere that prevails in the city, the country, and throughout Europe.
In the May issue of the magazine “Kaunas full of culture”, we decided to take a closer look at the phenomenon, which has existed in Europe since 2005 and which attracts every year the multifaceted, everyday invisible activities of museums. It is interesting how the big Kaunas museum family prepares for the busiest night of the year, what motivates and inspires it. Is Museum Night more than regular overtime for everyone? We talked about all this with representatives of several museums. They did not spare sincere personal recommendations either. We promise to publish a detailed plan of where, when and what to go in the near future.
What program are you preparing this year? What do your visitors usually look forward to the most?
Vytautas Great War Museum (VDKM): Even at the beginning of the year, knowing what event we are celebrating this year, we decided on a theme. We have prepared a program for the Museum Night dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Lithuanian Partisan War. in 1944 in the summer, as the war front receded and the second Soviet occupation approached, brave Lithuanian men and women joined the fight against the occupiers. The history of partisan warfare is a bridge between Lithuania then and today. Neither war nor freedom has a statute of limitations, so the question of whether it is still relevant today should not arise. We will invite you to the museum’s garden, where a stylized playground will be set up and the importance of partisan warfare and the challenges faced by the freedom fighters at that time will be introduced. The fight was fought not only with weapons, so it will be possible to experience how the forest printing press works, to learn about information encryption. Historian and writer Bernardas Gailius will visit the museum, “Skylė” will perform, and there will be a screening of Jonas Vaitkaus’ feature film “Vienui vieni”.
Lithuanian Museum of Education (LŠM): This year, the Night of European Museums is filled with the slogan “Class, work!”, which invites educational communities to join the initiative. He aptly responds to the narrative of the expositions of the Lithuanian Museum of Education. The content of the museum exposition remains the main axis during this event as well, but every year we look for new forms of presentation, new themes that unite all the spaces of the museum. This time, we will invite visitors to see the museum as they would not see it on a normal day – the expositions will be shrouded in the darkness of the night, and the classrooms filled with symbolic light and musical sounds will invite you to get acquainted with the historical, cultural and educational elements specially arranged for this night.
National MK Čiurlionis Art Museum (ČDM): As soon as the date of the Museum Night is announced, we start planning our activities, because we want not only to invite you to visit the museum, but also to create a casual atmosphere and program. Since the theme of this year’s Night of Museums is related to education, various educational activities will await visitors in all departments – from the “Mysterious Garden” in the A. Žmuidzinavičius Museum of Works and Collections to creative workshops and art therapy in the Picture Gallery. The house-museum of A. and P. Galaunias will invite you to get acquainted with Japanese culture, and you can listen to a concert at the house-museum of J. Zikars. The historical Presidency of the Republic of Lithuania will invite you to participate in the interactive game “Night of Responsible Choices: Lessons for Museum Artists and Educators”. As darkness falls, we will invite you to meditate in the courtyard of the Crosses of the MK Čiurlionis Art Museum to the sound of gongs and other instruments, while the Velnių collection on the other side of the street will be illuminated by the installation “The night catches…”.
Kaunas City Museum (KMM): Since this year Museum Night takes place on the same day as Street Music Day, Kaunas and city guests will not only be able to visit the museum’s departments for free, take part in educational activities and excursions, but also listen to live music at concerts organized by the museum.
Kaunas Fort IX Museum (KDFM): This year, we will offer two exclusive tours on Museum Night. The first one will take you to the beginning of the 20th century, when Fort IX was completed and equipped. Tour participants will be introduced to the unique structure of the Kaunas fortress – the concrete ice house of Fort IX. The next excursion we will invite you to is a walk around the memorial complex with the legendary Kaunas IX Fort Museum guide Janina. Kaunas Fort IX Memorial Complex is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and in the excursion organized for this occasion, participants will not only see exclusive historical photos from the construction of the memorial, but will also hear stories that have been rarely heard until now.
Maironis Museum of Lithuanian Literature (MLLM): Every time we think of a program, we rely on what we have – museum archives, beloved authors and museum spaces. But this year, we will start the Night of Museums with an upbeat event for young people, which seemed to have fallen from the sky like a gift – schoolgirls from the “Kaunas Challenge” project applied to the museum. This blind dating game should become a cycle. In addition, an experiential sound installation in the museum’s basement will be open until midnight. Visitors will hear the voices of the writers, and not only – it’s true, we recommend visiting this installation in solitude. In the garden of the museum, there will be inviting activities to socialize and celebrate: music, literary games and maybe even treats.
What are people looking for most at Museum Night?
VDKM: Many visitors want to see the museum and exhibits in an unusual light and at an unusual time. Others want to immerse themselves in unusual activities that we do not offer at other times. It can be both a demonstration of a unique exhibit and a ride on a military off-road vehicle.
ČDM: Visitors to Museum Night are mostly looking for new experiences, educational activities, exhibits and spaces, and are also interested in the musical program. The opportunity to participate in various games and win prizes is also tempting for overnighters. Visitors to memorial houses admire the authenticity, want to get to know the architectural and cultural heritage, are interested in the interior details and the personalities who lived there, their household.
KMM: One of the reasons for visiting the Night of Museums is the general festive atmosphere that prevails in the city, the country, and throughout Europe. What visitors are looking for most is emotion and the joy of discovery. Another important aspect is working time. We often hear that people have wanted to visit for a long time, but the opening hours of the museum coincide with their working hours.
KDFM: Museum visitors especially like the hitherto unpresented, less frequently visited or otherwise used museum spaces. The museum’s artistic video, sound or light installations also attract a lot of attention.
Is it easy to convince the team to work after hours?
VDKM: Easy, there is no shortage of people who want to work during Museum Night, as it is not only a fun event for visitors, but also an annual professional celebration for museum workers.
KMM: Museum night is a celebration for both visitors and employees. Working in it is a kind of honor. Although there are colleagues who prefer research work.
LSM: The staff of the Lithuanian Museum of Education has been thinking about the theme of Museum Night all year. Both the preparation for the event and the night itself provide positive emotions to the entire team, and the abundance of visitors and warm feedback repays all efforts, so you don’t need to be persuaded to contribute to this initiative. Often even family members of employees contribute to the implementation of ideas.
MLLM: Working at the Museum Night is fun and interesting because colleagues from the departments join. We are divided between expositions, exhibitions and it doesn’t matter in which position we work, that night we are a team ready to meet large groups of visitors, chat with them and invite them to evening activities.
Has Museum Night attendance been affected by the younger Free Sundays initiative?
VDKM: These are two different things. During Free Sundays, visitors can simply view the exhibition for free, without additional activities. And on Museum Night, we attract the best ideas, the most fun activities, people can spend the evening with us and see the museum a little differently.
ČDM: It’s hard to say – we get a lot of visitors at one time or another. Maybe during the Night of the Museums, they are more attracted by the various activities and cultural experiences specially prepared for this occasion. And on free Sundays, art lovers come to see exhibitions or to see their favorite work several times.
LŠM: Visitors on the last Sunday of the month usually choose one or two museums and spend more time exploring their exhibits. And Museum Night is an entertaining event, visitors often try to visit all the museums open at that time in one evening, so they don’t have time for longer activities.
MLLM: The audiences overlap, but during the Night of the Museums, a number of curious people of various ages visit the palace, who might just be passing by during the day.
And now – the most difficult question! If you didn’t have to work, what other museum would you rush to visit by yourself this night?
VDKM Public Relations Specialist Kęstas Vasilevskis: Since the birthplace of Museum Nights is France, it would be interesting to see how the French celebrate this night.
Vida Labanauskienė, Head of the Communication, Publishing and Marketing Department of ČDM: Some museum employees would associate their visit with the proposed program and newly opened, never-before-seen spaces, others would like to visit those museums they have not been to or visit their colleagues in other cities, and still others would be happy to go to Paris or London on this day, where they would visit the most famous museums.
Natalja Kaminskaitė-Kurlavičienė, head of the KMM M. and K. Petrauskė home: Since we know how many people visit museums during Museum Night, we would choose a smaller town or a lesser-known museum to avoid the crowds.
Head of the KMM Kaunas History Department dr. Inga Puidokiene: Great question. This year, I would probably choose the Tad Ivanauskas Zoological Museum in Kaunas.
Head of KMM National Music Museum dr. Gintarė Dusevičiūtė-Neimontienė: Museum curators usually look at both the technical aspects (exhibition method, lighting, etc.) and the idea itself. I myself am a fan of the Nordic museums, especially the Estonian National Museum and the Stockholm National Museum. You can see very creative solutions in them.
LŠM Loreta Kurmienė, head of the cultural activities department: First of all, I would be interested in events of a similar nature, ie education, science, nature museums, in Lithuania and throughout Europe.
KDFM Cultural events organizer Karolina Jurevičiūtė: Since I have participated in Lithuanian museum events several times, it would be interesting to visit foreign colleagues, for example, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam or the Albertina Museum in Vienna.
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Tags: night museums approaching preparing
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