MINISTÈRE DES AFFAIRES ÉTRANGÈRES ET EUROPEENNES
No. 12 – May 2010
European Museums at Night 2010: an unusual event for art lovers
European Museums at Night will be held on Saturday 15 May
2010 in France and 42 other European countries. The event, created
in 2005 by the French Ministry of Culture and Communications, is
an opportunity for museums in France and all over Europe to bring
their visitors together for an exceptional night in which they can take
part in a joint project to explore other identities and cultures. To
mark the occasion, over 2,200 museums, including 1,100 in France,
will be opening their doors from 7.30 pm until late into the night,
and vying with one another to see which can come up with the most
imaginative and unusual event, with drama trails, temporary
installations, special lighting, audiovisual displays, concerts and
more.
This annual event for late-night art lovers, which began in France
in 1999 and has spread right across Europe since 2005, is experiencing
growing success: the number of visitors has increased steadily, from 1
million in 2005 to 1.8 million in 2009. Museums at Night is a great
opportunity to explore museums and their collections in an unusual
atmosphere.
Backed by the Council of Europe and UNESCO, and organised by the French government department
responsible for museums, the event enjoys close links with International Museums Day run by ICOM
(International Council of Museums and Museum Professionals), confirming its European and international
credentials. From Riga to Nicosia, from Smolensk, Warsaw or Bucharest to Faro in Portugal, museums of all
kinds, large and small, in the member states of the Council of Europe are invited to take part in this annual
event, now a key date on the European cultural calendar.
Museums across France are getting ready to step into the limelight. In Paris, the Orangerie museum will
reveal the story behind the creation of Claude Monet's Waterlilies through a remarkable dialogue between mime
and poetry: six video art works examine the presence of bodies and water in his paintings. The Grand Palais will
be hosting a musical evening with the Quatuor Hélios, to coincide with the Turner and his Painters exhibition,
whilst the Musée d'Orsay will be marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of poet and dramatist Alfred de
Musset, offering visitors a performance of one of the jewels in the crown of Romantic literature: Il faut qu'une
porte soit ouverte ou fermée.
Still in Paris, visitors can take part in a treasure hunt at the Musée des Arts et Métiers or follow an audio
and music trail at the Musée Zadkine, where the highlight will be the garden. The Petit Palais, meanwhile, will
be mirroring its Yves Saint-Laurent exhibition with a journey through fashion, featuring fun installations, storytelling and an event entitled Decorate your silhouette.
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In the Île-de-France region around the French capital, the Sun King has returned for Museums at Night in
the Domaine de Sceaux estate. The local museum in Barbizon will take visitors on a historical journey along the
town’s main street, from classical times to the present, with readings from La Fontaine, Victor Hugo,
Apollinaire and Rimbaud, accompanied by a cello. The National Museum of the Renaissance at the Château
d'Ecouen will be hosting an event based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses and inviting visitors to explore the text and
its illustration by Renaissance artists through drama, song, readings and contemporary instrumental music.
In the regions, the Musée Saint-Rémi in Reims will be holding a face-painting workshop, transforming its
younger visitors into characters from the Middle Ages or legendary creatures. At the Musée Saint-Raymond in
Toulouse, visitors can play at being Romans, with games such as hopscotch, latrones (the “game of brigands”)
and an early form of marbles! Visitors to the local archaeological museum in Jublains can find out all about the
famous magic potion, solve puzzles, talk to a “wise man” and much more.
La Rochelle’s museums will be focusing on 'taste', and exploring the flavours and rituals associated with
it from the point of view of sustainable development. The Centre Pompidou in Metz will be hosting a festive
event for one night only: a very unusual art book fair, with all the books sold by weight. A special trail has been
designed to awaken and heighten the senses at the Musée Ingres in Montauban, with a diverse and evocative
series of colour and light effects alongside things to smell, hear, touch and taste.
In Strasbourg, the Museum of Decorative Arts and the Palais Rohan are putting on an evening of Baroque
music and dance, whilst the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art is running a series of mini-workshops
for families and providing an opportunity to chat freely with art students.
Lots of buildings will have their façades lit up, including the museum at the Château de Mayenne, which
will be putting on an intimate, dreamlike puppet show that blends seamlessly with the backdrop of light and
water. From the Grand Bastion at the Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, visitors will be able to see the Ballons des
Vosges regional park and the Black Forest in the distance.
Around Europe, visitors to the Catania Museum in Italy will be able to enjoy the performance of an opera
by Vincenzo Bellini and a night-time guided tour of his home. In Spain, the Cosmocaixa Museum in Barcelona
will be putting on a theatrical piece that combines magic and interactive audiovisual technology. Intrepid
museum visitors in the United Kingdom will be spending the night in the bunker under the streets of Whitehall
where Churchill took shelter during the Second World War, whilst others are invited to bring a torch and explore
Denny Abbey, near Cambridge, where they can meet and chat with characters from the past.
Museums at Night will be accompanied by all kinds of music, starting in St Petersburg, Russia, with a
picnic by the lake and finishing in Bucharest, Romania, with a concert of gypsy music.
Annik Bianchini
Website
www.nuitdesmusees.culture.fr: European Museums at Night 2010
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