Walkers who circulate through Campo Volantín on the 18th may fall into the dense network of museums of the Historical Territory. Throughout the day, these institutions will encourage you to participate in an Escape Room located on public roads, very … near the Zubizuri walkway, a suggestive challenge. Curiously, their purpose is very different from the usual one of these intricate spaces, since they do not invite us to look for an exit, but rather to stay and enjoy their cultural proposals. International Museum Day wants to remind us that there are more than forty entities of this type in Bizkaia that cover areas such as art, history, science or technology. “They are places where heritage is protected, culture is disseminated and knowledge is generated,” said Leixuri Arrizabalaga, Deputy for Basque Language, Culture and Sports, at the event’s presentation ceremony.
The motto of this call, ‘Museums for education and research’, aims to vindicate the study aspect behind each organized exhibition and activity. “They are designed with the objective of enriching our knowledge and stimulating our curiosity,” he indicated and emphasized their educational aspect, “that which allows us to learn in an enjoyable and fun way.” There is no possible suspicion. Entry to the centers will be free in most cases.
The agenda appears full of appointments, some very original, to enjoy a day that this year also falls on a Saturday. The possibility of seeing its aerial tram, the only one of these forms of mining transport that is preserved in Bizkaia, is one of the attractions of the Dolomites Old Factory Museum in the encartada town of Carranza. This factory, recently incorporated into the museum complex. “In this case, our offer is a different way of discovering an industry, through the senses and we invite all types of audiences,” said Leyre Barreras, its director, at the same event.
Participation is also the key to the Art Bot workshop, animated by Steam philosophy, and which will allow you to build motorized characters. He Durango Museum of Art and History joins the celebration with an original initiative that adds technology and creativity. Music will be the protagonist of the program Orduña Museum, which prepares a harp and cello concert. Others will take advantage of the celebration to inaugurate temporary exhibitions. He Museum of Basque Nationalism presents the exhibition ‘Mendirik Mendi. Euzko Mendigoizale Batza’ and the Plasentia Butron opens the doors of ‘Plentzia, an archaeological site’, with the incentive of guided tours that will reveal the history of the municipality.
There are also those who use the occasion to show its ins and outs, that aspect usually foreign to the visitor’s gaze. He Museum Archeology has prepared a route that emulates the one carried out by the archaeological remains when they arrive at their deposit. Spectators will not only be able to access the washing, pre-cataloging and research room, but will also see pieces that are not usually exhibited.
Museums are not based solely on conventional buildings that display pristine rooms and an immaculate arrangement of artifacts of all kinds. He Agurtza fishing boatanchored in Santurtzi, is an institution and on May 18th it will allow us to feel like sailors sailing on the high seas while we browse its bridge, the refrigerators, the cabins and the engine room.
The Biscayan centers have managed to preserve a good part of our cultural and economic heritage. The El Pobal forge usually shows the hard work on iron, one of the engines of the economy of the old Señorío, and, on this occasion, it has also organized a workshop around the art of calligraphy and illustrations that will bring us closer to the sophisticated world of manuscripts.
International Museum Day introduces us to the varied offerings of small institutions, many unknown to the general public, but it also establishes bridges with large entities. Thus, the Museum of Fine Arts will have commented visits, while the Guggenheim will activate the wishing tree that Yoko Ono prepared for Bilbao.
