4
C
yprus, as a small country with less than a
million residents, has a relatively impressive
number of 92 museums. These museums vary
from state foundations with massive collections
and a strong workforce, such as the Cyprus
Museum in Nicosia, to the small privately-owned
museums that function under the supervision of
one person and have been kept alive due to the
persistence and dedication of their owners – such
as the Ethnographical Museum of Paphos.
Some museums are housed in impressive
buildings, such as the Leventis Gallery in Nicosia,
with predefined opening hours, while others are
hosted in small homes found mainly in villages,
with visits arranged only upon a telephone request.
Altogether, they offer the public the chance to visit
a broad range of museums such as: archaeological,
religious historical, ethnographical, natural history/
environmental, but also art galleries and others.
Museum collections make connections
To celebrate International Museum Day this year,
the museum community chose the theme
Museum
collections make connections
.
Every year, International Museum Day is
celebrated around a given theme that aims to
promote museum issues in society. The 2014
theme
Museum collections make connections
aimed at renovating traditional methods of
engagement adopted by museums in order to
remain relevant to their stakeholders. Museums
are constantly facing changes in the industry that
force them to rethink their traditional mandate
and find new ways to engage visitors through
more accessible collections. As important story-
tellers of a community’s cultural heritage and
collective memory, museums contribute strongly
to the development of their society by connecting
visitors to different types of collections.
Both the 2014 theme and poster therefore highlight
existing collaborations between museums around
the world as well as their importance for cultural
exchanges and for the knowledge of world cultures.
Free entry to the museums
Since 1977, 18 May is celebrated worldwide as
International Museum Day. This day is an occasion
to raise awareness on how important museums
are in the development of society. Over the years,
participation in the celebrations of International
Museum Day has grown impressively. Around
30,000 museums from approximately 120 countries
join in the celebrations with the hosting of special
events. The European Night of Museums is
celebrated annually on the weekend closest to IMD.
The Department of Antiquities of the Ministry of
Communications and Works announced that for
both occasions all its Museums would be open
with free entrance on 17 May 2014.
Byzantine Museum andArt Gallery
(Archbishop Makarios III Foundation)
The Byzantine Museum and Art Gallery
(Archbishop Makarios III Foundation) opened an
exhibition of artworks on 19 May 2014 entitled
International Museum Day
A child’s exhibit at the Byzantine Museum’s Hymn to Freedom exhibition
