#MuseumWeek: celebrating culture around Europe

Sunday, 30 March 2014

During the week of March 24-30, Twitter users gained special access to more than 630 European museums and galleries simply by following #MuseumWeek.

The week-long celebration connected culture lovers all around the world with art works, history, science and literature in a new, fun and interactive way. By following #MuseumWeek on Twitter, millions of people were able to virtually visit 630 museums and galleries across Europe.

Originally launched in France at 12 museums, the #MuseumWeek initiative quickly spread to the UK, Spain and Italy and had more than 630 participants from 20 countries as the week began. Among them were the Tate (@Tate), the Louvre (@MuseeLouvre), Museo Reina Sofía (@museoreinasofia), along with lesser-known and niche collections, all of which enjoyed reaching a broader audience.

Every day, all museums tweeted around a given topic (architecture, emotion, creativity and so on), encouraging people to take part in the conversation about that. Among the most popular themes were those providing exclusive access behind the scenes and those that engaged art lovers with cultural knowledge and creative notions.

Regardless of their size, location, or collections, participants showcased some of their masterpieces and granted the public with opportunities to learn and share their passion in fun and creative ways. In France, Cite des Sciences (@citedesciences) and Grand Palais (@GrandPalaisRmn) featured artists to grant the public with dedicated artwork, and start conversations around the museums and their current collections; Centre Pompidou (@centrepompidou) redesigned its inside hall and outside forum with #MuseumWeek Tweets; and Musée d’Orsay (@MuseeOrsay) and Quai Branly (@quaibranly) created Vine videos to show the public what happened when the museum was closed. In the UK, the Historic Royal Palaces (@HRP_palaces) gave followers a unique insight into a #DayInTheLife of Henry VIII, including a live Twitter Q&A with the former monarch. And as the week drew to a close, the Natural History (@NHM_London) and Victoria & Albert Museums (@V_and_A) took each other on in Tweet-off featuring #MuseumSelfies.

While museums and cultural organisations have been on Twitter since the earliest days, #MuseumWeek brought them together for a greater purpose: to make culture available to anyone around the world, and offer art lovers with even more reasons to visit their exhibits.

With more than 260 000 Tweets from all over the world since the event was announced on March 6th, #MuseumWeek is another example of how Twitter can be used for education, discovery and conversation — anytime, anywhere.

Find #MuseumWeek highlights in our custom timeline.

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