Last year, the most-read text on our website which also functions as a cultural news site, was the announcement about the Long Night of Museums. In 2022, a similar bulletin was the third most-read article. That alone is worth spending a few hours compiling the various information different museums provide. It is also worth going on an evening walk that will surprise even museum enthusiasts who have seen everything. This year, the day when museums will open their doors in the evening was May 18.
We decided to take a closer look at the phenomenon, which has existed in Europe since 2005, annually attracting people with the multifaceted and invisible – in a day-to-day life – museum work. It is interesting how the big family of Kaunas museums prepares for the busiest night of the year, and what motivates and inspires it. Is Museum Night more than regular overtime for everyone? We talked about all this with representatives of several museums.
What program are you preparing for this year? What do your visitors usually look forward to the most?
Vytautas the Great War Museum: We decided on the topic at the beginning of the year, knowing what event we are commemorating this year. We have prepared a program for the Museum Night dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Lithuanian Partisan War. In the summer of 1944, as the front lines of the war were slowly drawing near along with the second Soviet occupation, brave Lithuanian men and women joined the fight against the occupiers. The history of partisan warfare is a bridge between Lithuania then and today. Neither war nor freedom has a statute of limitations, so the question of whether it is still relevant today should not arise. We will invite you to the museum’s garden, where a stylized space will be set up and the importance of partisan warfare and the challenges faced by the freedom fighters at that time will be introduced. The fight didn’t involve weapons only, so you will be able to experience how the forest printing press works and learn about information encryption. Historian and writer Bernardas Gailius will visit the museum, Skylė will give a concert and the museum will offer a screening of Jonas Vaitkus’ feature film Vienui vieni.
Lithuanian Museum of Education: This year, the European Museum Night is accompanied by The Class, The Work! motto, which invites educational communities to join the initiative. It aptly corresponds to the narrative of the Lithuanian Museum of Education’s expositions. Their content will also remain the focus of attention during this event but every year we look for new forms of presentation and new themes that unite all the museum spaces. This time, we will invite visitors to see the museum in a way that they would not see on a normal day: the expositions will be shrouded in darkness and the classrooms filled with symbolic light and music will invite the visitors to get acquainted with the historical, cultural, and educational elements specially rearranged for this night.
M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art: As soon as the date of the Museum Night is announced, we start planning our activities, because we want not only to invite you to visit the museum but also to create an unusual atmosphere and program. Since the theme of this year’s Museum Night is related to education, various educational activities will await visitors in all the departments, including the Mysterious Garden at the A. Žmuidzinavičius Creations and Collections Museum and a creativity workshop and art therapy session in the Picture Gallery. A. and P. Galaunė House-Museum will invite the visitors to get acquainted with Japanese culture and J. Zikaras House-Museum will host a concert.
The Historical Presidential Palace will invite you to participate in the interactive game Night of Responsible Choices: Lessons from Museum Professionals and Educators. At dusk, we will invite you to meditate to the sounds of gongs and other instruments in the Courtyard of the Crosses of the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art and the collection of Devils across the street will be illuminated by The Night Catches installation.
Kaunas City Museum: Since this year, the Museum Night takes place on the same day as Street Music Day, Kaunas residents and city guests will not only be able to visit the museum departments for free, take part in educational activities and tours, but also listen to live music concerts organized by the museum.
Kaunas Ninth Fort Museum: We will offer two exclusive tours. The first one will take you to the beginning of the 20th century when the building of the Ninth Fort was completed. Tour participants will be introduced to the unique structure of the Kaunas fortress – the concrete icehouse of the Ninth Fort. The next tour will be a walk around the memorial complex with the legendary Ninth Fort Museum guide Janina. Kaunas Ninth Fort Memorial Complex is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. On this occasion, participants will see exceptional historical photos from the memorial’s construction and hear some curious stories.
Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum: Every time we think about a program, we draw inspiration from what we have: the museum’s archives, beloved authors, and museum spaces. But this year, we will start the Museum Night with an upbeat event for young people, which seemed to have fallen from the sky like a gift. Several schoolgirls from the Kaunas Challenge project approached the museum with an idea. This blind dating game should become a series. In addition to that, an experiential sound installation in the museum’s basement will be open until midnight. Visitors will hear the voices of writers, and not only (we recommend visiting this installation in solitude). The museum garden will offer different activities: music, literary games, and even a tasting of lovely snacks.
What do people look for most on Museum Night?
Vytautas the Great War Museum: Many visitors want to see the museum and exhibits in an unusual light and at an unusual time. Others want to immerse themselves in unusual activities that we do not offer at other times. It can be both a demonstration of a unique exhibit and a ride on a military off-road vehicle.
M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art: During the Museum Night visitors are mostly looking for new experiences, educational activities, exhibits, and spaces, and are also interested in the musical program. The nocturnal guests are tempted by participating in different games and winning prizes. Visitors to memorial houses admire the authenticity, want to get to know the architectural and cultural heritage, and are interested in the interior details, the personalities who lived there, and their everyday lives.
Kaunas City Museum: One of the reasons for visiting Museum Night is the general festive atmosphere that can be felt in the city, the country, and the whole of Europe. What visitors are looking for most is emotion and the joy of discovery. Another important aspect is working hours. We often hear that people have wanted to visit for a long time, but the museum’s opening hours coincide with their working hours.
Kaunas Ninth Fort Museum: Museum visitors especially like museum spaces that have not yet been introduced, are less frequently visited, or have been used in other ways. The museum’s artistic video, sound, or light installations also get a lot of attention.
Is it easy to convince the team to work after hours?
Vytautas the Great War Museum: It is. There is no shortage of people who want to work during Museum Night because it is not only a fun event for visitors, but also an annual professional celebration for museum workers.
Kaunas City Museum: Museum Night is a celebration for both visitors and employees. Working during it is a kind of honor. However, some colleagues prefer research work.
Lithuanian Museum of Education: The staff of the Lithuanian Museum of Education has been thinking about the theme of Museum Night all year long. Both the preparation for the event and the night itself provide positive emotions to the entire team, and the abundance of visitors and warm feedback repay all efforts, so you don’t need to be persuaded to contribute to this initiative. Often even family members of employees contribute to the implementation of ideas.
Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum: Working during the Museum Night is fun and interesting because colleagues from other departments join. We spread out around different expositions, and it doesn’t matter in which position we work, that night we are a team ready to meet large groups of visitors, chat with them, and invite them to the evening activities.
Has Museum Night attendance been affected by the earlier free-of-charge Sundays initiative?
Vytautas the Great War Museum: These are two separate things. During free-of-charge Sundays, visitors can simply view the exhibition for free, without additional activities. And on Museum Night, we pull out the best ideas and the most fun activities; people can spend the evening with us and see the museum in a different light.
M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art: It is hard to say since we get a lot of visitors on both occasions. Maybe during Museum Night, they are more attracted by the various activities and cultural experiences specially prepared for this occasion. And on free-of-charge Sundays, art lovers come to see exhibitions or see their favorite works of art once more.
Lithuanian Museum of Education: Visitors on the last Sunday of the month usually choose one or two museums and spend more time getting to know their exhibitions. And Museum Night is an entertaining event, visitors often try to visit all the museums open at that time in one evening, so they don’t have time for longer activities.
Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum: The audiences overlap but during Museum Night, many curious people of various ages, who might just pass by during the day, visit the museum.
And now: the most difficult question! If you didn’t have to work, what other museum would you rush to visit on that night?
Vytautas the Great War Museum Public Relations Specialist Kęstas Vasilevskis: Since the birthplace of Museum Nights is France, it would be interesting to see how the French mark this night.
Vida Labanauskienė, Head of the Communication, Publishing, and Marketing Department of M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art: Some museum employees would focus on the program and the newly opened, never-before-seen spaces, others would like to visit those museums they have not been to or visit colleagues in other cities, and others would be happy to leave on this day to Paris or London to visit the most famous museums.
Natalija Kaminskaitė-Kurlavičienė, head of the Kaunas City Museum and M. and K. Petrauskas House: Since we know how many people visit museums during Museum Night, we would choose a smaller town or a lesser-known museum to avoid crowds.
Head of the Kaunas History Department of the Kaunas City Museum, Dr. Inga Puidokienė: That’s an excellent question. This year, I would probably choose the Tadas Ivanauskas Museum of Zoology.
Head of the Folk Music branch of the Kaunas City Museum Dr. Gintarė Dusevičiūtė-Neimontienė: Museum professionals usually look at both the technical aspects (display method, lighting, etc.) and the idea itself. I am a fan of the Nordic museums, especially the Estonian National Museum and the Stockholm National Museum. They are full of truly creative solutions.
Loreta Kurmienė, Head of the Cultural Activities Department at the Lithuanian Museum of Education: First of all, we would be interested in activities of a similar nature, i.e. education, science, and natural museum events in Lithuania and throughout Europe.
Kaunas Ninth Fort Museum: Cultural Events Organizer Karolina Jurevičiūtė: Since I have participated in Lithuanian museum events more than once, it would be interesting to visit foreign colleagues, for example, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam or the Albertina Museum in Vienna.
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