The Ministry of Culture’s state museums were visited by 43,105 people on Saturday 18 May on the occasion of International Museum Day and European Museum Night. The figure almost doubles the attendance compared to the 2023 event, which together registered the visit of 22,668 people.
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43,000 people visit the State Museums of Culture on International Museum Day and European Museum Night 2024
Unlike other years, this year’s 2024 edition coincided on the same day with the celebration of International Museum Day and the European Night of Museums. Thus, during daylight hours, the 16 state museums, which are distributed throughout the country, were open free of charge and were visited by 27,638 people. From 19:00 hours onwards, eleven of these museums extended their opening hours at night, and a further 15,467 visitors were registered until midnight, also free of charge.
The museums that experienced the greatest growth in visits compared to last year were the National Museum of Anthropology, the National Archaeological Museum, and the Museo del Traje. Centro de Investigación del Patrimonio Etnológico, and the Museo Nacional de Arte Romano.
Free admission and extraordinary activities
In addition to free admission for the general public, the Ministry of Culture has also offered a varied programme of activities throughout the week, reinforcing the mission of museums in relation to their educational role, exploration and dissemination of critical thinking and new ideas, in accordance with the slogan chosen this year by the International Council of Museums ICOM: ‘Museums for education and research’.
Some of the activities available to visitors have been the creation of a collaborative mural at the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology. ARQVA in Cartagena; historical recreations and dramatised visits at the National Museum of Roman Art, in Mérida, and at the National Museum of Ceramics and Sumptuary Arts ‘González Martí’, in Valencia; small jazz, ‘swing’ and ‘gypsy’ concerts at the National Museum of Sculpture, in Valladolid; or the now traditional ‘original’ illumination of the Altamira Neocave, in Santillana del Mar (Cantabria).
Visitors were also able to enjoy the recently opened temporary exhibitions in the state museums. These include ‘Convivium: archaeology of the Mediterranean diet’, at the National Archaeological Museum; ‘Chupas y parkas. Rockers and mods from Brighton 1964’, at the National Museum of Anthropology, and ‘Travelling to paint. Sorolla and Painted Sculpture’, at the National Sculpture Museum.
The 16 state museums under the direct management of the Ministry of Culture are:
Cartagena (Murcia)
National Museum of Underwater Archaeology. ARQVA
Madrid
National Archaeological Museum
Costume Museum. Ethnological Heritage Research Centre
Sorolla Museum
Cerralbo Museum
National Museum of Decorative Arts
National Museum of Romanticism
Museum of America
National Museum of Anthropology
Mérida (Extremadura)
National Museum of Roman Art
Santillana del Mar (Cantabria)
Altamira National Museum and Research Centre
Toledo (Castile-La Mancha)
El Greco Museum
Sephardic Museum
Valencia
National Museum of Ceramics and Sumptuary Arts ‘González Martí’.
Valladolid (Castile and Leon)
National Sculpture Museum
Cervantes House Museum