Events Dedicated to International Museum Day

May 18 is International Museum Day, celebrated worldwide. In connection with this date, an open-door day will be announced in Georgian museums, offering free admission to visitors. Throughout the week, a variety of events—including exhibitions, educational programs, and cultural activities—will be held. On the same day, May 18, as part of International Museum Day, and upon the initiative and with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia, the "Night at the Museum" campaign will be held in almost all museums across Georgia. This year as well, museums will remain open for visitors until 1:00 AM, allowing visitors to become active participants in the cultural events held within the framework of the campaign.

This year, private museums have also joined the "Night at the Museum" campaign. In total, 114 museums are participating nationwide, with nearly 500 events planned across Georgia.

Calendar of events for May 18 and the "Night at the Museum" campaign in Tbilisi

Calendar of events for May 18 and the "Night at the Museum" campaign in the regions

International Museum Day - Established on May 18, 1977, by the International Council of Museums (ICOM), this date has been celebrated by the international museum community for over 40 years. The International Council of Museums (ICOM) is a unique network of museum professionals uniting more than 35,000 individual members, 20,000 museums, and 172 national and international committees. In connection with International Museum Day, museums in various countries annually plan creative events and activities related to the theme of International Museum Day. The initiative aims to engage the general public. The theme for International Museum Day 2019 is: “Museums as Cultural Hubs: The future of tradition“.

"Night at the Museum" Campaign - Held annually since 2005 under the patronage of the Council of Europe in its member states. In subsequent years, the campaign gained a wide scale and spread to many countries around the world. Georgia joined the campaign in 2011, though it did not take on a traditional form. "Night at the Museum" became an established tradition only in 2015, upon the initiative of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia. The main goal of the campaign is to raise public awareness and ensure accessibility to museums and the cultural heritage samples preserved within them.

Statistics for 2017-2018:

On May 27, 2017, the "Night at the Museum" campaign was held in nearly 80 museums nationwide (attracting 60,000 visitors), and on May 21, 2018, in 101 museums. Last year, in just a single night, museums were visited by an unprecedented number of visitors—over 103,000 attendees. The events were actively covered nationwide through social media and television, which further contributed to promoting the museum as an active educational and cultural institution.