Museums are sanctuaries of knowledge, history and art; spaces to learn about the past or explore contemporary issues through carefully curated exhibitions. They are a place to slow down, look closely and gain new perspectives on everything from ancient civilisations to classical masterpieces. And now, thanks to advances in technology, museums are increasingly accessible to people all over the world. Online galleries, apps and virtual tours mean that the rich collections held in museums can be enjoyed by more people than ever before.
The International Council of Museums (ICOM) defines a museum as “an institution, not-for-profit or public trust, created to gather, conserve, research, interpret and exhibit cultural property and to make it available to the public.” In addition to preserving and researching their collection, museums are active partners in community outreach and education. They are also able to assist with emergency preparedness and risk management and work to ensure that the world’s cultural heritage is protected in case of natural disasters or man-made catastrophes.
In this era of racial tensions and rising political unrest, there’s never been a more important time for museums to show what they have always done best: inspire and unite. Museums across the globe have spent centuries perfecting their craft of engaging audiences with engrossing exhibitions that beckon visitors to travel back in time and expand their understanding of our global heritage.
Many museums are visited by millions of people every year. Statista compiles the most-visited venues each year, and the top museums include world-famous destinations like New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and London’s Natural History Museum, but they also include venues in countries as far flung as China and Russia.
Often, these institutions are housed in historic buildings that were once used for other purposes, such as palaces and cathedrals or medieval fortresses. For example, the Louvre is a former medieval fortress and the palace of the kings of France, and today it is home to treasures like the Venus de Milo, the Mona Lisa and the Code of Hammurabi.
Some museums focus on a particular subject, such as art or natural history, and others are dedicated to one country, civilization or region. Museums that specialize often have large, diverse collections and may share them with other museums or sell them to raise money for research and exhibitions.
Even museums that don’t have large, well-known collections can draw in a crowd by creating compelling exhibits that leave visitors thinking about the past and present in new ways. This is certainly true of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, which both feature few artifacts but manage to create memorable experiences by telling a fascinating story.
In the end, all museums are places of learning and sharing, where people come together to explore their common humanity. They are polyphonic, inclusive and democratising, enabling critical dialogue on the pasts and futures of our world. By holding the arts and heritage in trust for society, museums promote human dignity, social justice and global equality.