Guidelines of the Ministry of Culture for museums and galleries in connection with the planned reopening during the COVID-19 epidemic

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

museums and art galleries play a unique role in social life, the life of the political and national community. They preserve and protect collections of the heritage of the past, and collect works of contemporary culture. This is a great obligation towards the nation, for which heritage and culture are a source of value for today and tomorrow. Today, these obligations are joined by concern for the health of society, the stability of the economy and the awareness of people who, rebuilding the world after the epidemic, should not forget about humanistic values, including, above all, culture. Celebrating this year's International Museum Day, different than ever before, will be an opportunity to recall these museum duties, which, regardless of the times, remain relevant.

 

In accordance with the announcement of the Prime Minister, Mr. Mateusz Morawiecki, on April 16 this year, in the coming weeks there will be a gradual lifting of orders and prohibitions resulting from the state of the epidemic, including (in Stage II) - those concerning certain cultural institutions, including museums and art galleries. Guided by the belief in the fundamental importance of these cultural institutions for the social integration of communities and environments and the importance of activities in the area of education, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage recommends the gradual opening of museums, art galleries and other cultural institutions in a manner and at a time resulting from their organizational specificity and statutory activities and from the current assessment of the situation, made by their directors in consultation with the organizers/founders.

 

It should be emphasized that the date of implementation of the second stage of defrosting economic and social life has not been specified, because its specification depends on a responsible assessment of epidemiological safety. Therefore, it is also impossible to specify the date of opening museums to visitors, especially since, taking into account the diversity resulting from many aspects (location of headquarters and branches, type of collections, museum-related activities, etc.), it will be decided by the directors of the institutions, who know their specificity best and are able to determine safe possibilities for the public and collections to carry out statutory tasks.

 

Piotr Glinski

Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of Culture and National Heritage