A new manifesto has been adopted by the Museum Association of Russia, titled “Museum in the Present and the Future”. The document, signed by Mikhail Piotrovsky, the head of the State Hermitage, defines the role of museums in modern society. The statement highlights the trend of viewing museums as leisure businesses and the exclusion of public organizations from decision-making processes.
The manifesto begins by emphasizing the importance of museums as research, cultural and educational institutions, as well as preservers and transmitters of the nation’s cultural code. In a time of rapid change, the museum is seen as an island of stability, explaining the art and style of change through the experience of history and art.
The document also emphasizes the museum’s commitment to selecting and training its staff, considering them a unique asset. Museum professionals stress that a genuine museum is a quality seal and that its success cannot be measured by mechanical rules and sanctions, but rather by a high degree of autonomy.
The strategic goals of the manifesto include preserving the unity of the museum sector in the country, legally protecting collections and curators and developing a subtle system for evaluating a museum’s success. The statement warns that the museum’s mission, which is to preserve the DNA of the nation and humanity, is at risk of being lost under the pressure of viewing museums as leisure businesses, with mechanical bookkeeping becoming the main criterion for evaluating success and public organizations being excluded from decision-making processes.