On 25 May 2020, Mikhail Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage and President of the Union of Museums of Russia, participated in a session of the sub-group on questions of the development of museum and exhibition activities within the State Council of the Russian Federation’s working group on Culture. The session took place in an online format, chaired by Anton Alikhanov, Governor of Kaliningrad Region.
Other participants were representatives of the Ministry of Culture, heads of ministries and departments of culture in constituent territories of the Russian Federation, heads of museums, specialists from the museum community: Alexei Mudrov, acting Director of the Museums Department at the federal Ministry of Culture; Vadim Vankov, Director of the Department of Informational and Digital Development at the federal Ministry of Culture; Yelena Kharlamova, Minister of Culture for Moscow Region; Yury Trofimov, Minister of Culture for Omsk Region; Sergei Yemelyanov, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Archival Affairs for the Republic of Komi, Zelfira Tregulov, General Director of the State Tretyakov Gallery, and others.
“Today we are all of us undergoing a real trial. People and institutions of culture are obliged to work in an unaccustomed regime,” Anton Alikhanov said, greeting the participants. “this has undoubtedly led to changes in the forms of work with the audience. It should be noted that museums had already been using the virtual sphere for a fairly long time to interact with visitors, but today it has become practically the sole channel of communication.” In such conditions, according to Anton Alikhanov, “museums’ performance of one of their most important missions has acquired a number of distinctive features. Our agenda contains two interconnected questions: partnership in museums’ public education activities and museums’ response to the new working conditions.”
“Public education is one of museums’ most important functions and is taking on very great significance right now. We and other museums have at present very extensive experience, positive and negative, in connection with working online. As a result, it is becoming clear how important public education through museums and from museums is,” Mikhail Piotrovsky told the participants. He added that museums are in need of support, that attention needs to be paid to their preservation and compensation of lost income. Every little museum needs to be supported. Their accessibility needs to be ensured. “Accessibility should be provided in two senses: technical accessibility with the necessary equipment and online through virtual guided tours, which implies educating people in a complex manner.”
Mikhail Piotrovsky directed particular attention to the preservation of an integral museum sphere: “Museums are very important. Each museum is important. We should remember that there are no small, insignificant museums. After all, culture is born locally where it is, then it transforms into large culture, a legend, a myth…”
In the course of the rest of the session, participants talked about current problems in museum affairs today, about the possibilities of working online, about the forms of organizations’ works with various categories of visitor. Proposals and new projects were put forward. There was also discussion of the further prospects for development and interaction between cultural institutions and visitors.
The meeting led to the formulation of proposals for the support of the work of museums that will be submitted to Russia’s Ministry of Culture, the Union of Museums of Russia and the regions.
