Night of Museums in Latvia.
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Night of Museums…
May 2012, line at Natural History Museum in RigaThe annual Night of Museums, with…
“Forest – the Color of Green” the theme.
Will be held in Riga and elsewhere in Latvia for the ninth time on May 18, offering visitors a large number of events to choose from – this year from 7 p.m.
“The number of museums participating in the Night of Museums continues to increase – as are the number of attendees.
Organizing the Night of Museums events is increasingly difficult because people are always expecting something new,” Janis Garjans, head of the Culture Ministry’s Department of Museums, told reporters.
This year, about 127 museums will participate, but besides museums, there are also cooperation partners participating, including libraries and theaters, plus several churches.
As usual, Riga museums and other institutions are the most active, but the Night of Museums is promising to be quite active in Vidzeme Province too this year. Also, the number of museums in Kurzeme Province will increase from the usual ten or so to about thirty this year.
The Night of Museums takes place at the beginning of the museum season.
May is the month when seasonal museums reopen to the public after winter; whereas permanent museums offer new exhibitions.
During the Night of Museums, two new exhibitions will be unveiled – at the “Arsenals” exhibition hall of the Latvian National Museum of Art and at the National History Museum of Latvia.
This year, the theme of the Night of Museums is “Forest – the Color of Green”. Museums will offer various interpretations on the theme: there will be events dedicated to Latvian forests, hunting, trees, ecology and sustainable living.
“The museums will offer various plays on the color of green, there will be events for everyone to choose from. There will be trees planted in many places. Also, there will be museums whose Night of Museums programs will be part of the [late poet] Imants Ziedonis’ Month,” said Garjans.
Increasingly many private museums participate, said Garjans, emphasizing that museums were open to the general public free of charge on the Night of Museums, thereby expressing their gratitude to museum-goers.
The Night of Museums is an international event held in Latvia and in other European countries. Just like last year, this year, too, people who participate in the Night of Museums events will be offered public transport until 2 a.m.
Most Night of Museums events will be free of charge, however, some of the venues have special requirements. For instance, people who will want to enter the Saeima building will have to have identification.
The Museum of Decorative Arts and Design will have a special program: besides the permanent exhibition, Maris Maskalans’ photography exhibition will open at the museum and Maskalans and Laila Pakalnina’s film
“Par dzimteniti”…
will be screened at the museum during the Night of Museums. An exhibition dedicated to Latvian forests will be on show at the Mezaparks Grand Stage.
kultura.lv
