May 18: International Museum Day

International Museum Day is held every year around May 18 and is a project of the International Council of Museums (ICOM).

The theme changes every year; for 2023 it’s “Museums, Sustainability and Wellbeing.”

The day was established in 1977 to increase public awareness of the role of museums in the development of society.

The objective of International Museum Day is to raise awareness about the fact that museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among people.

You can visit some Prague museums for FREE:

• National Gallery Prague 10:00 – 20:00 free admission to the following permanent exhibitions: Old Masters I., Old Masters II, Medieval Art in Bohemia and Central Europe 1200⁠–⁠1550, 1796⁠–⁠1918: Art of the Long Century, 1918⁠–⁠1938: First Czechoslovak Republic
• National Museum of Agriculture
• National Museum
• The Prague City Museum
• National Technical Museum will offer a reduced admission fee. The discount on the entrance fee does not apply to the mine exhibition tour.

History

The first International Museum Day took place in 1977, coordinated by ICOM.

IMD was established following the adoption of a resolution by ICOM to create an annual event “with the aim of further unifying the creative aspirations and efforts of museums and drawing the attention of the world public to their activity.”

Each year, museums internationally are invited to participate in IMD to promote the role of museums around in the world. They do so through events and activities related to the annual theme. An annual theme for the event was first adopted in 1992.

An international poster from ICOM was first developed in 1997, and in that year was adapted by 28 countries. In 2009, IMD attracted the participation of 20,000 museums hosting events in more than 90 countries.

In 2010, 98 countries participated in the celebration, with 100 countries in 2011, and 30,000 museums in 129 countries in 2012. In 2011, the official IMD poster was translated into 37 languages. By 2014, 35,000 museums from 140 countries were taking part in IMD.