The 9th edition of the European Night of Museums, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Communication, will take place on Saturday 18 May 2013 in France and throughout Europe.

Discover or rediscover the riches of our common heritage, classical and contemporary masterpieces, dare to cross the threshold of museums without constraints and be surprised by a selection of activities...so many perspectives offered to all in the magic of the Night.

In more than 3,000 museums, millions of Europeans, from Moscow to Madrid, from London to Istanbul, from Marseille to Bucharest, come together in a festive and friendly spirit for unforgettable moments.

In France, more than 1,300 museums take part in this great night of museums that brings together two million night owls every year taking advantage of this unique opportunity to invest the exhibition halls and enjoy 5,000 surprising animations, fun, scientific, educational…

Programming 2013

Thematic evenings, unexpected visits, sound and lights, concerts, screenings, shows, circuits, etc. will mark this night whenparticipating museums will be accessible free of charge to visitors. A few examples:

In Paris and Ile-de-France

  • Concerts, tales and characters of storytelling, video games and cinema at the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (Paris)
  • Investigations and puzzles at the Musée des arts et métiers (Paris)
  • Experimentation of the gestograph at the Musée du Quai Branly (Paris)
  • The Petit Palais comes out of its reserve: re-discovery of works of reserves (Paris)
  • La Sculpture, at your fingertips - Inauguration of an educational and didactic room dedicated to the techniques of sculpture at the Bourdelle Museum (Paris)
  • Michelangelo Pistoletto, Sculpture of walk and performance at the Louvre Museum (Paris)
  • Choreographic show «Chemins de traverse» at the Musée d'Orsay (Paris)
  • Games, music and tastings at the National Museum of Playing Cards (Issy-les-Moulineaux)
  • Visit of the estate and exhibitions, musical activities and dances at the Domaine de Sceaux, Parc et Musée d'Ile-de-France (Sceaux)
  • Making a bread according to an ancient recipe and stonemason in Archéa, Archaeology in France, in Louvres (Val d'Oise)

In the regions

  • The Night of Mysteries in the museums of Mulhouse (Alsace)
  • The Night of the Cartels in the Museums of Bordeaux (Aquitaine)
  • Sarliève’s burial: an investigation at the Bargoin Museum in Clermont-Ferrand (Auvergne)
  • Sculpture workshop of ancient Egypt at the Emmanuel-Liais Museum in Cherbourg (Lower Normandy)
  • Sensory visit of the Maison de la pomme et de la poire, in Barenton (Lower Normandy)
  • Bread making at the Maison du Blé et du Pain, in Verdun sur le Doubs (Burgundy)
  • Photography in the heart of the Nicéphore Niepce Museum in Chalon-sur-Saône (Burgundy)
  • Murder and police investigation at the Bertrand Museum-Hotel in Châteauroux (Centre)
  • Hieroglyphic workshop at the Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology, in Besançon (Haute-Normandie)
  • Discovery of the profession of curator at the Pierre-de-Luxembourg Museum in Villeneuve-les Avignon (Languedoc-Roussillon)
  • Medieval magic (fire shows, juggling) at the Princerie Museum in Verdun (Lorraine)
  • Musical visit to the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum, in Albi (Midi-Pyrénées) Engraving, creation of instruments and concerts at the Lille Métropole Museum of Modern Art of contemporary art and raw art (Nord-Pas-de-Calais)
  • Special programming as part of the year «Marseille Provence European Capital of Culture» at the Departmental Museum Arles antique (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur)
  • Electro-pop concerts at the Paul Cézanne Museum-Atelier in Aix-en-Provence (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur)

Sensory tour at the Archaeological Museum of Jublains (Pays de la Loire)

In Europe

  • Tintin flea market at the Hergé Museum (Belgium)
  • Dance, music, workshops and dance lessons at the Pori Art Museum (Finland)
  • Bollywood at Bradford 1 Gallery (UK)
  • Glamour, intrigue and murder at Coleton Fishacre (United Kingdom)
  • Green forests will be the common theme of all museums in Latvia
  • Piano Concerto at Massa Marittima (Italy)
  • People at night theme in all museums in Estonia

The class, the work

La 9
th
The European Night of Museums focuses particularly on arts and cultural education. A partnership between the Ministry of Culture and Communication and the Ministry of National Education is developing this year around the program, The Class, the work, aimed at involving school audiences in this event. 100mused to offer school students the discovery of a work from their collections. Students are invited to interpret a work from the collections of a museum located near their school. Their productions, based on what these works solicit in the imagination of young people, will be published on the website of the event and may be close to the selected work in the museum. This project, which aims to increase students' familiarity with cultural institutions, gives new impetus to the European Night of Museums 2013.

La Nuit en ligne

The event is resolutely digital. It will also take place on the web, in a dynamic of sharing. Internet users will be able to exchange favourites and practical ideas on social networks, find the complete program of the event and access all useful information about the Internet portal of the European Night of Museums. An application dedicated to the Night of Museums will be available in May (via Urbanpulse).

The European Night of Museums is organized by the Ministry of Culture and Communication. It is placed under the patronage of the Council of Europe, of UNESCO and of theICOM.

The European Night of Museums coincides in 2013 with the International Museum Day organized by ICOM.

It has the support of loyal partners: RATP, Ville de Paris (Paris musées), Fédération Française des Sociétés des Amis des Musées, Métro, Radio France, TV5 Monde and France Télévisions.