Many countries have chosen the International Museum Day, May 18, to open doors again, like Portugal. In Ireland, return will not be made until July.
With more and more countries drawing up the schedules for reopening after isolation, the air seems to gradually become a little more breathable. Among the multiplicity of places that now open doors, the return of museums brings a certain symbolism, a trip back to history and art, even though it is certain that the rules will, from now on, be quite different. The European Network for the Organization of Museums (NEMO), an institution that also serves as a guiding thread among institutions in thirty European countries, recently created an interactive map where it is possible to follow the next steps (information on the situation in some countries, such as Portugal , had not yet been updated in the last consultation made by i).
Here, as the prime minister explained last week, museums open doors on exactly the internationally chosen day to celebrate their existence, on May 18, with just a few general rules already defined – for now, visitors are forced to distance themselves and the space capacity will be reduced. The new hygiene and safety standards, to be met by visitors and employees or the mandatory use of masks has not yet been formally communicated to the institutions, and the Portuguese Association of Museology has already asked for clarification of the rules so that the return is smooth and consequently, bring security to visitors and workers.
Moreover, across Europe, Governments are making decisions about the reopenings that show more or less caution, taking into account the last two months. In Spain, one of the European countries hardest hit by the outbreak, the opening is scheduled for May 11, with museums allowing only a third of the capacity. In Italy, from May 18, museums will also be able to reopen. The UK has not yet drawn up the timetable, but decisions on this matter are expected later this week. In Poland and Iceland, museums returned to receive visitors yesterday, and in Slovenia, museums today find a new routine.
In Sweden, in line with the no confinement policy, some spaces didn’t even close. Those who closed will open their doors tomorrow, May 6. In Germany, since April 22, museums have been able to reopen in some states – the 16 German states have the autonomy to decide these matters. As such, it is expected that museums will gradually open this month, being certain, says NEMO, that some spaces will take longer than expected because they are having difficulty buying all the necessary protective material. Cyprus and Ireland are two of the NEMO members who will later return to active duty: 1 June and 20 July, respectively. And in Bulgaria, where the number of infections continues to increase, there is still no date.
The breath of reopening will, in many cases, and as in so many other areas, be of enormous importance for the balance of accounts. During the quarantine, a survey of 650 museums and carried out by the European network traced a difficult scenario: the main European museums located in tourist areas recorded losses of between 75 and 80%. This until mid-April.
Source: ionline