International Museum Day will take place this year on May 21, marking its 46th anniversary. It is proclaimed annually by the International Council of Museums ICOM. The aim of Museum Day is to draw attention to museums in Germany and worldwide and to invite visitors to discover the diversity of museums. The theme for 2023 to inspire museum staff for the day is "Museums, Sustainability and Wellbeing."
On this day, admission to the city's museums is free.
There is a lot to discover in the Museumsquartier Osnabrück on this day, especially for families. There will be a variety of offerings and public tours aimed at all age groups. Visitors are invited to discover the variety of offerings with free admission. At 2 p.m., there will be a guided tour of the exhibition on Felix Nussbaum.
As a special highlight this year, there will be guided tours of the Bucksturm at the Bocksmauer at 12, 2 and 4 pm. The Bucksturm is a defense tower of the Osnabrück city wall from the time around 1200. Since the Middle Ages, its interior has housed the so-called "Johanniskasten", a creepy prison made of oak planks in the shape of a box. It was named after its most famous inmate, Count Johann von Hoya, who was held as a prisoner of war by the people of Osnabrück in this box for over six years in the 14th century.
An open workshop for children, the "Scriptorium", the medieval writing room, is offered from 12 to 18 o'clock. Meanwhile, at 2 p.m., there will be a guided tour for parents through the "Stadtspuren" exhibition on the history of the city. At a waffle stand, young and old can fortify themselves so that they can explore the various offerings at length.
The Museum am Schölerberg is holding an open day. Guests will receive free admission to the new permanent exhibition and reduced admission to the planetarium. Guided tours of the museum's flowering garden will be offered, as well as solar observation with the Astro-AG. Children will also get to know the Grasshopper, the museum's environmental mobile, and explore nature on site with it. A selection of food and drinks will also be available.
At the Kunsthalle Osnabrück, a guided tour of the European Media Art Festival exhibition with curator Inga Seidler will take place at 2 pm. The festival theme "Trembling Time" also provides the content and conceptual framework for the current exhibition. In the exhibition curated by Inga Seidler for the festival, our understanding of time is to be questioned. The artists shown consider alternative history/s as well as ideas of the future beyond the idea of progress. In doing so, their observations, narratives or deconstructions take place in the context of time and its perception against the backdrop of a global climate and environmental crisis.
In Germany, International Museum Day is coordinated nationwide by the German Museums Association and implemented in close cooperation with the museum associations and offices of the federal states at the regional level as well as the local museums. Museum Day is supported by ICOM Germany. This year, the action day is under the patronage of the President of the Bundesrat, Dr. Peter Tschentscher.