Museum Night in Barcelona

On 14 May, from 7 pm until 1 am, all the museums in Barcelona will be open to art and culture lovers, as well as those of us who may not be in the habit of visiting museums but are interested in enjoying a different kind of night out.

La Noche de los Museos en Barcelona (Museum Night in Barcelona) forms part of International Museum Day 2011, established by the International Council of Museums with the slogan ‘Museum and Memory’. This open day seeks to bring people closer to the treasures housed inside each museum, as well as highlighting the importance of the conservation work that is done by these institutions: places that guarantee the preservation and upkeep of our cultural heritage.

The word museum comes from the Latin, mus?um, which comes in turn from the Greek, m???????, but if refers to a public or private entity dedicated to conserving, caring for, investigating and exhibiting collections which represent some aspect of human life, whether that be natural history, art, clothing or architecture etc.

The concept of the museum has always been linked to the dominant and exclusive vision of a culture. In the past, they were often built to restrict access to the objects they stored, having been designed as places for experts only. However, this has begun to change in recent years with the realization that museums are not places built just for those who work in them, and that they should acknowledge the outside world by helping people to appreciate the culture they house. Museum directors are concerned about the lack of interest shown by much of the public in their institutions, and for this reason there has been a concerted effort to attract people to the culture and knowledge on offer in museums and thus turn them from dead spaces into living bodies.

So, Museum Night is a great opportunity to breathe life into these monuments to art and science. At least, that is how they feel in CCCB (Barcelona´s Centre for Contemporary Culture) where they have marked the occasion by offering free entry to their La Trieste de Magris exhibition from 7 pm until 1 am. What´s more, to commemorate International Museum Day they are also offering free day-time entry on 18 May between 11 am and 8 pm.

For more information http://www.cccb.org/es/altre_proposta-noche_de_los_museos-37451

 

Nancy Guzman

Barcelona is a city of museums and culture, so if you are enjoying a stay in the city then don´t miss out on this chance to gain free entry to museums and experience the best exhibitions late into the night by renting Barcelona accommodation .

Translated by: Ben Palmer