International Museum Day 2021

The International Museum Day was created in 1977 by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and is celebrated on or around the 18th of May annually. It is a day set aside annually to celebrate Museums. The objective of International Museum Day (IMD) is to raise awareness of the fact that “Museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among people”. The IMD also provides an opportunity for Museums Professionals across the globe to meet the public and educate them on the challenges Museums are facing.

The year 2020 has been like no other. The COVID-19 crisis has caused countless governmental and societal challenges around the world. Some already pressing issues have been exacerbated, questioning the very structure of our societies.

Museums are no exception to these changes, and the cultural sector is among the most affected. The Museum has experienced a drastic drop in attendance, a collapse in budget, postponement of openings, staff cuts, etc. In addition, Museums are facing severe financial, human, material and security consequences. However, this crisis has served as a catalyst for crucial innovations that were already underway, notably an increased focus on digitisation and the creation of new forms of cultural experience and dissemination.

As such the theme for this year’s IMD “The Future of Museums: Recover and Reimagine” invites museums, their professionals and communities to create and share new practices of (co-)creation of value, new business models for cultural institutions and innovative solutions for the social, economic and environmental challenges of the present.

Museums, all over the world are currently adapting their physical space and instituting new safety measures to reopen and take on new forms; such as maintaining current Covid-19 protocols, timed ticketing and visitors count restrictions etc. to curb the spread of the disease. However, how will people experience museums 10 or 20 years down the road, when proactive design changes have been put in place for safety reasons?

It is indeed a crucial moment for our society and the Central Bank of Nigeria Currency Museum is embracing and leading the change. The Museum is rethinking and reworking its space to create a new model in order to reaffirm the essential value of the Museum and its sustainability in future. The Museum is in the process of creating an interactive Museum experience that promotes a digital representation of its collections, creating virtual tours for online visitors, as well as an overall branding of the Museum.

Since we all are still taking precautionary measures, we encourage staff and the public to visit the Currency Museum webpage on the central bank of Nigeria website (www.cbn.gov.ng) for a glimpse of all the beautiful and historical collections on display in the Currency Museum.

We look forward to your visit and feedback.
Thank you.