Where we feed our curiosity cravings
This Wednesday, 18 May, we celebrated International Museum Day. These magical places where we keep, care for and display objects of cultural, artistic, historical, or scientific significance have a long and exciting history.
The term museum comes from Greek museion, meaning a shrine to the Muses. And although the modern concept of the museum as we know it now has not emerged until the 18th century, variations of what museums came to be, go as far back as ancient Babylon, where Princess Ennigaldi (6th century BC) collected artefacts with origin spanning 1,500 years. Her collection is now considered the world's oldest museum.
Cabinets of curiosities were specialised rooms dedicated to eclectic and encyclopaedic collections. They emerged around the 16th century in the homes of the nobility and the church. However, public institutions replaced them in the late 18thh century.
Many collectors across Europe followed the example of Elias Ashmore, who donated his treasures to Oxford University, providing the foundation for the Ashmolean Museum (also known for the dodo story). And so, the era of Enlightenment came along with the birth of institutions we still cherish (British Museum in 1759, Museo Nacional del Prado in 1785, Musée du Louvre in 1793).
Nowadays, modern museums are finding ways to engage and enhance the experience by using innovative technologies, digitalising their collections, making them accessible virtually, and hosting in-person and online talks; overall, their importance and impact are ever-growing.
Learning from the past, educating future generations, and creating communities and cross-generational bonds are only some of the reasons museums are still relevant today.
We ran a quick poll yesterday to find out which are your favourite places to visit. Here are the results:
Thank you all for sharing!
And if you’re looking for a place to get culturally enlightened next weekend, we would like to invite you to the Open Studios event at the Inverness Creative Academy. If you subscribe to our monthly newsletter, you will also receive an exclusive 20% discount for the occasion, for your in-person and online shopping spree.
Until next time,
Fiona