On 10 December 2020, during the Hermitage Days, an international Russia-Netherlands seminar on “COVID-19 and Museum Educational Programmes” was held in online as part of the international Russian-Dutch Museum 15/24 project.
The Museum 15/24 project is implemented by the State Hermitage, the Hermitage–Amsterdam Exhibition Centre and the Hermitage 21st Century Foundation. The aim of the project is to develop new methods of involving young people aged 15–24 in traditional and innovative museum practices with museums in Russia and abroad, educational and research institutions in Russia and the Netherlands.
In December 2019, a delegation of specialists in museum education for young people from museums in the Netherlands made a working visit to Saint Petersburg. A return visit to the Netherlands by specialists from the State Hermitage with the aim of continuing the exchange of experience was supposed to take place in 2020. In the conditions caused by the pandemic, in order to achieve the aims of the programme remotely, the Hermitage–Amsterdam Exhibition Centre came forward with the initiative to organize an international online seminar with Russian and Dutch specialists in museum education participating and to discuss how museums have been able to switch over to a new digital format of working during the pandemic.
The seminar participants were welcomed in addresses from Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage, and Paul Mosterd, Acting Director of the Hermitage-Amsterdam Exhibition Centre.
“Dear Friends, this conference has turned out to be very appropriate, while it would scarcely be topically relevant in normal times, because in normal times it would be simply a drawing of balances and getting acquainted with other people’s work and a little bit with your own. There would be nothing new to teach and nothing to give to the world, just a summing up of common experience. Now,though, after the coronavirus, as a result of the coronavirus even, we have acquired really extensive experience that is entirely new. We have encountered new challenges, very serious challenges for those who are educators, serious challenges from society and not simply some general conditions. For that reason what is said and the general conclusions drawn today may become very important for many people in our present world,” Mikhail Piotrovsky said. “A big thank-you to all the participants, because you are all people who have been working actively all this time. You all understand that in the conditions of COVID-19, we are working not only in the field of education, but also on reducing hysteria during the pandemic period.”
“We are very pleased that the Hermitage–Amsterdam Exhibition Centre’s initiative to hold such a seminar has been supported by our colleagues. During the pandemic, the development and implementation of museum educational programmes in an online format using all available digital platforms became the common goal of museums around the world,” Paul Mosterd noted.
On the Netherlands side contributions to the seminar were made by:
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Femke Hameetsman, Head of Education at the Mauritshuis, The Hague (The Mauritshuis. A digital live tour and a new virtual environment in gigapixel format)
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Nikita Gerritsen, Head of Education at the Zuiderzee Museum, Enkhuizen (A virtual 360° museum tour)
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Inez Veltman from the Educational Department of the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (The Museum Boijmans van Beuningen offline and online during the pandemic)
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Martine Wouters, Head of Sponsoring at the Hermitage–Amsterdam (Masterpieces on tour. The Museum Plus Bus project)
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Niko Bos from the Educational Department of the Hermitage–Amsterdam (The #tour. A Safe Museum Route)
On the Russian side contributions came from:
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Olga Makho, Head of Research and Methodology, Department of Education, State Hermitage (Work in “Cultured Isolation”: new formats and new audiences)
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Irina Diubanova, Head of the School Centre, State Hermitage (New programme formats of the School Centre of the State Hermitage in a remote working environment)
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Sophia Kudriavtseva, Head of the Student Education Centre, State Hermitage (The Student Education Centre of the State Hermitage during the pandemic. A chronicle)
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Ekaterina Sharova, Head of Information Projects, State Hermitage (The State Hermitage online during ‘Cultured Isolation’: how to organize daily online shows in the museum)
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Yury Molodkovets, photographer, State Hermitage (“Divine digital”. The “Hermitage vaccine”)
The seminar was intended for specialists from museums in Russia and abroad, the audience consisted of members of staff from the Gatchina State Museum Preserve, the State Russian Museum, the Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic and the State Museum of the History of Saint Petersburg, as well as colleagues from museums in the Netherlands.
The Museum 15/24 project
The Museum 15/24 project is a complex innovative programme for the State Hermitage being implemented by an international consortium made up of the Hermitage–Amsterdam Exhibition Centre, the Hermitage 21st Century Foundation, and the Museum of the Mind (Netherlands). The project is part of the Dutch-based international programme Creative Twinning.
The aims of the project are to develop new methods of involving young people aged 15–24 in traditional and innovative museum practices with museums in Russia and abroad, educational and research institutions in Russia and the Netherlands.
The programme is overseen by the State Hermitage.
