The 6th European Night of Museums - Saturday 15 May 2010.

The Ministry of Culture and Communication announces the 6th edition of the European Night of Museums, which will be held on Saturday, 15 May 2010.

Created in 2005 by the Ministry of Culture and Communication, the European Night of Museums has now become a key date in the European cultural calendar. Year after year, it attracts an increasingly larger public and mobilizes a growing number of museums, as well as countries, that contribute in this way towards the construction of a Europe of Culture.

The originality of this event

This event is an ideal occasion to unite different types of public for the duration of an exceptional night, and enable both one-evening visitors and regulars to (re)discover their museums and collections in a different way, and free of charge, and to participate in an original programme that brings together all the arts. From the Musée d’Orsay in Paris to the Carré d’Art in Nîmes, from the Musée des Beaux Arts of Quimper to the Centre Pompidou-Metz, from the History of Science Museum in Florence to the Imperial War Museum of London, and from the National History Museum of Moscow to the National Museum of the Decorative Arts in Madrid, nearly 2,500 museums of art, ethnography, history or science, cultural institutions in about forty European countries will celebrate this occasion together.

A national event

Among the museums of the 26 regions, numerous institutions will organize exceptional events based on the topics of regional languages, sustainable development, space and many other thematic programmes, the night being the main source of inspiration.

Every year, this event provides an opportunity for museums to introduce new themes of reflection, with an unusual and innovative angle, in their programme, to place emphasis on receiving the public and to create inventive synergies between institutions in the same town (Angers, La Rochelle, Strasbourg, etc). One of the strong points in 2010 will be the operation entitled “The Night of Museums for Twitters” in which several museums will join forces to implement a collaborative project that will be the first step towards a new generation of relations between museums and visitors.

A European rendez-vous

Since 2006, the European Night of Museums has come under the patronage of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and is held simultaneously in countries that have signed the European Cultural Convention. All museums from countries belonging to the Council of Europe are invited to join this annual rendez-vous.

UNESCO has also recognized the international scope of this event and has supported it since 2009. In France, on the occasion of the France-Russia Year, many institutions will place Russia under the spotlights. So far, more than about thirty Russian museums have confirmed their participation. In 2009, a total of nearly 200 museums, most of them from the city of Moscow, joined the European Night of Museums.

On the initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Communication, associated with the Réunion des musées nationaux, the European Night of Museums will again benefit from its linkage with the International Museum Day organized by ICOM (International Council of Museums), to underline the European and international dimension of this event.

For a detailed programme, consult www.nuitdesmusees.culture.fr