International Museum Day:
Theme: Museums as agents of social change and development

Saturday, May 24: Official Opening in the Fort Church
Sunday, May 25 exclusive: Children’s Museum Tour

Every year, around the 18th of May, the International Museum Day is celebrated. The Association of Museums and Heritage of Curaçao (AMC) has opted to place children at the center stage and to spread this celebration over a weekend. The official opening is on Saturday, May 24 and will take place at the Fort Church in Punda. What is new is that, especially for this occasion, the Museum Association will organize a museum tour for children between the ages of 6 and 12.

The International Council of Museums (ICOM) proposes a theme every year. This year, it is Museums as agents of social change and development. Of old, museums have been places where cultural heritage is kept and managed. In a museum, you can become acquainted with culture, customs and developments that occurred in a particular area through the years and often also through the ages. Thus, you can see and experience all kinds of things about Protestant, Jewish, African and Afro-Curaçao traditions, the importance of the maritime past, music and art. Thus, we understand better why now it is the way it is. Everybody and everything is always a part of change and development. Nothing remains always the same.

The official opening of the International Museum Day, so in Curaçao this weekend, will take place in the Fort Church on May 24 by Governor Frits Goedgedrag. For this occasion, an exhibition on Curaçao filigree has been put together for only one day at the Fort Church Museum. From 12.00 hours, this exhibition will be open to the general public. The old craft of goldsmith is practiced less and less and that is why it was decided to pay special attention to it on this day. Then, the DVD on Curaçao Filigree will be presented. This documentary, “Un arte di Oro”, was made especially for this occasion on the initiative of Millicent Smeets-Muskus, President of the Fort Church Museum, with the cooperation of Lucille Berry-Haseth, who wrote the script and recorded the text, and film director Ati Palm.
This instructive film lasts 30 minutes and will be shown during the official opening and in the afternoon at 12.15 hours and 14.15 hours.

The whole day will be graced with music. The musical background in the Fort Church will be provided by Johnny Kleinmoedig and his combo, Jan Boodt at the organ, Livio Hermans at the piano, the young group Musikantes of Music Academy Edgar Palm, conducted by Edzel Provence, and the children’s choir Zjozjoli. They will give performances alternately in the morning and afternoon hours. At 16.00 hours the Fort Church will close its doors.

On this Saturday and Sunday, most museums will be open and can be visited free of charge.
For more particulars and opening hours, please refer to our program, which will be published in a number of newspapers.

Everybody is cordially invited to visit our museums this weekend.