Thousands of events and millions of visitors: how Moscow museums and exhibition areas are developing

Last week, we celebrated the International Museum Day. About 450 museums and exhibition halls have been opened in Moscow, including 102 institutions subordinate to the Moscow Department of Culture. On average, more than 14,000 events are held at the museum venues of such institutions per year.

“Moscow is one of the largest museum cities in the world. About 450 various museums and exhibition, from magnificent palace and estate complexes to small expositions, are open daily in the Russian capital. The Moscow Department of Culture manages 102 institutions providing the museum framework in all districts of the city. Last year, their total attendance was 16.7 million people, which was the all-time record and significantly exceeded the attendance that museums had achieved before the pandemic. City museums and exhibition halls have run 1,237 exhibitions over the past year. The largest of them topped the list of major cultural events,” said Alexander Kibovsky, Head of the Moscow Department of Culture.

Last year, a new exhibition area, VDNKh’s Pavilion No. 31 Geology, opened. It was planned to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the State Biology Museum named after K.A. Timiryazev. The exposition shows the variety of minerals and living beings. Visitors can see a collection of bird nests, animal skeletons, the Losiny Ostrov National Park’s biome and look at how specially bred worms feed on polymeric foam. Moreover, when viewing the exposition, visitors can use a digital guide with augmented reality elements.

In addition to museums holding exhibitions and different events, the city has estates and reserve museums. The Moscow Zoo also belongs to museum-type institutions.

The largest museum reserve in the Russian capital is Tsaritsyno. Visitors can walk in the park complex for hours discovering something new each time. Exotic plants grow and bloom in greenhouses. Exposition halls, which present part of the museum’s holdings numbering more than 45,000 items, are open.

Another famous landmark in Moscow is the Kuskovo Memorial Estate. Its visitors can learn more about the architectural and artistic ensemble dating from the 18th century and see a collection of park sculptures, visit the Museum of Ceramics and Grotto Pavilion, the only pavilion in Russia that has preserved the unique decoration of the 18th century. The Kuskovo Memorial Estate offers several exhibitions, some of which can be seen online. In total, the museum’s holdings include more than 65,500 items, of which 6,000 are on display. They are works of painting, graphics and sculpture, pieces of furniture, art and craft items dating from the 16th-19th centuries, as well as a large collection of glassware, porcelain and ceramics.

Every year, museums carry out repair and overhaul works. Over the past year alone, repair and restoration work has been completed in 15 institutions subordinate to the Department of Culture.

One of the major projects was implemented at the Moscow Zoo. A new entrance near Barrikadnaya metro station and an expanded pedestrian bridge for transit between the old and new parts of the Zoo were opened.

Moscow makes art accessible to both children and adults.

As part of the Museums for Children project, Moscow schoolchildren can visit 111 cultural sites free of charge. In 2022, more than 607,500 students took part in the project attended museums. Moscow residents and visitors can also view exhibitions for free as part of the Moscow Museum Week event, which takes place on the third week of each month.

In addition, the Museum Moscow Online portal has collected about 110,000 exhibits and run more than 970 exhibitions. During the year, more than 1.3 million people visited the portal.

The traditional Museum Night event is dedicated to the International Museum Day. This year, it runs online and offline from May 20 to May 21. The museums will offer more than 220 events free of charge.