Arts
Spanish State museums celebrate Museum Night and International Museum Day
From Saturday 16 to Monday 18
Museo del Prado in Madrid
(Source: Museo del Prado)
(Source: Museo del Prado)
The first of these events was held in 1977, with the aim of raising public awareness about the role of museums in the development of society and the social role they play as guardians of the collective memory. The State Museums run by the Directorate-General of Fine Arts, Cultural Heritage and Archives and Libraries are celebrating the Night and Day through a wide-ranging programme of activities that invite people to rediscover their collections. Free entry, extended opening hours, night-time opening, concerts, workshops, conferences, guided visits, theatrical dramatisations, competitions... all activities aimed at enabling people to take part in these celebrations.
On May 16, 2015, European Museum Night will be celebrated for the 11th time. This festive event that was first held in 2005 is an initiative sponsored by the Council of Europe and developed in parallel with the actions celebrating International Museum Day, which will be held on May 18. As in previous years, about 3,400 museums throughout Europe unite around this very special night, opening their doors at night and allowing free visits at extended hours.
Museums all over Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Portugal, Austria and Poland, among others countries, will help illuminate the darkness on the night of May 16. An extensive offer of cultural and leisure activities will be available because, alongside the late opening of these museums, a number of other activities will also take place in order to bring the museums closer to as many people of all ages as possible through their collections. These activities will include workshops, guided visits, concerts, theatre and micro-theatre, story-telling, audio-visual productions... all of them sharing the same festive spirit.
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