Today, 18 May, is International Museum Day which has been organised every year since 1977 by ICOM (International Council of Museums).
Lakeland Arts Chief Executive Rhian Harris comments,
‘On International Museum Day it is important to remember what makes museums so important. Museums provide a collective memory for society, and spaces to learn, discover and share experiences together. Lakeland Arts is an arts and heritage charity that runs Windermere Jetty Museum, Abbot Hall, Lakeland Museum and Blackwell – the Arts & Crafts house.
The Covid-19 pandemic created many challenges for museums and cultural spaces, and we, like many organisations, adapted our operational model and re-imagined ways of working with our communities.
We actively created programmes, such as the award-winning MEND project, that reached isolated people providing much needed support for health and wellbeing through creative activities.
It’s been wonderful welcoming people back into our venues and seeing people using our spaces. This summer we have an exciting programme of events, family workshops and art displays on offer at our venues which are located in unique, peaceful settings.
We continue to take our collections beyond our walls, running workshops with schools, youth and community groups. Across summer our MEND van and team will be visiting outdoor events, music festivals and agricultural shows. Our rich collections and shared experiences help us keep the stories of this amazing region alive and seed the artists and makers of tomorrow.’
The objective of International Museum Day (IMD) is to raise awareness about the fact that, “Museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.”
All around the world, more and more museums participate in International Museum Day. Last year, more than 37,000 museums participated in the event in about 158 countries and territories.
Follow the conversation on social using #IMD2022
