French Man Bequeaths Money to Hermitage Cats

 I trust you have heard about the cats that reside in the basement of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia?

On the off- chance you haven’t, there are 50 of them, and their job is to keep the rodents at bay. They have three caretakers and their very own Press Secretary.

Now a Frenchman has donated a tidy sum to pay to for their care an needed upgrades to their abodes. Although he has been named in some media, he made the donation anonymously and prefers to stay that way. 

Whoever he is, I like his kind heart.

Read more in the New York Post.

Documenting life during a pandemic

Today I listened to TWO interesting CBC Radio shows about pandemic diaries: who's keeping them, and why, and how they have value beyond the personal. It turns out there are a few initiatives to encourage recording this period for their historical value. A few highlights from each:

'We want it all': Keeping a COVID-19 diary? It could help future historians — and your mental health - The Current

Dr. Karen Blair, an assistant professor of psychology at St. Francis Xavier University... is part of a team that's collecting diary entries from those in the thick of isolation. They hope to shed light on how the pandemic is affecting mental health. Each day, participants check in with a short survey. Some even share details about their experiences that day."

It's so interesting that I have joined the COVID-19 Diary Study project.

The Current story resources
Keeping a COVID-19 diary? It could help future historians - podcast episode and transcript
COVID-19 Diary Study - join Dr. Karen Blair's project

National Museum of Denmark's
Christian Sune Pedersen is leading the journal project

Danes are sending their quarantine journals to the national museum - Day 6

"Lots of people are turning to social media to chronicle the monotony of quarantine, peppered with the brief excitement of sourdough starters and family kitchen parties. But folks in Denmark are taking it a step further, by sending pages of their lockdown journals to the national museum to preserve them for posterity. Conveniently, Denmark already has a blueprint for the journal experiment..."

They've done it before, in 1992 (when they received 51,000 entries) and again in 2017. An interesting listen.

Day 6 story resources
Danes are sending their quarantine journals to the national museum - podcast episode and transcript
National Museum of Denmark - official website (19 museums/sites)

Museums in the age of COVID-19

Time just published a timely piece: 5 Ways to Bring Art Into Your Home While Museums Are Closed. A few highlights:

As part of widespread efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, many of the world’s major cultural institutions have closed their doors... these institutions’ closure brings a reminder of the importance of the museum’s place in society during times of need. Research has shown that viewing art can reduce stress and anxiety, increase motivation and serve as a mood booster... And museums also play a crucial role in creating a more empathic world. They preserve the past, remind us of our place in the present and give us hope for the future. But the inability to set foot in a museum for the foreseeable future need not be synonymous with the absence of art from people’s lives. Under the Instagram hashtag #MuseumFromHome, cultural institutions have shared several informative posts about their collections and other artworks in an effort to continue to share knowledge and culture with the public, despite the closings. And there are many other ways to get your arts and culture fix from home via the internet, exploring museums that would otherwise require a plane ride to visit..." [continue reading on Time].

5 Ways to Bring Art Into Your Home While Museums Are Closed - Time

BIG list of museum podcasts

I stumbled across a great blog post the other day, essentially a collection of podcasts by museums around the globe. Whether you're preparing to visit a particular museum, are a podcast-addict or just live a curious life, Hannah Hethmon's hard work collecting all these podcasts, is sure to please.

Hannah Hethmon's BIG list of museum podcasts

Every Museum Podcast in One Big List

My own podcast about Icelandic museums, Museums in Strange Places, has given me the chance to see “behind-the-curtain” in so many amazing museums, and if I’ve learned one thing, it’s that museums are leaving so many of their most human and compelling stories untold. Since it’s through podcasting that I’ve discovered these stories, I started to wonder how museums around the world were using podcasting to have a more intimate platform for telling stories and engaging their audience. To that end, I scoured all the podcasting platforms and reached out to the Twitterverse and Facebook groups to compile the most complete list of podcasts by museums on the internet. 

How the List is Organized (and Who I Left Off)  

I’ve divided the podcasts I’ve found into history museums, science and natural history museum, art museums, and a category for mixed-interest and other museums that don’t fit in the previous groups... [continue reading Every Museum Podcast in One Big List].

Check out #MuseumWeek on Twitter

#MusuemWeek runs March 23-29, 2015

This week, world of museums, quite literally, will be all atwitter about, well, museums! @MuseumWeek is a week-long global initiative involving more than 1800 museums, curators and enthusiasts. The e-vent takes place on Twitter, with a daily theme.

I only stumbled on the initiative today, and it is already live in New Zealand. The cool thing about the online world is that you don't have to stick to your own timezone, so if you're keen, you can timetravel and start right now!

There is one global hashtag - #MuseumWeek - and 7 daily themes each its own hashtag:


#secretsMW

Monday March 23:

The week kicks of Monday by museums far and wide giving you a behind-the-scenes look into their worlds. Who knows what secrets and surprises will be revealed? Regardless, expect a treasure trove of new-to-you museums to discover. Follow #secretsMW on Monday.

#souvenirsMW

Tuesday March 24:

On Tuesday, you are invited to share our own memories of museum visits, and your souvenirs from museums (yes, take a picture of your MOMA mug!). Should make for an interesting and engaging day of museum encounter stories! Follow #souvenirsMW on Tuesday.

#architectureMW

Wednesday March 25:

Wednesday is dedicated to the architecture of museums: the buildings, the gardens and surrounding areas. You'll have an opportunity to explore the history and heritage of museums world-wide. Get ready to say wow a lot. Follow #architectureMW on Wednesday.

#inspirationMW

Thursday March 26:

Thursday is another day for sharing. Not sure I totally understand how this one will work, but the official message is, "Now it’s your turn to create and share for posterity! Art, science, history and ethnography are all around us. To your smartphones!" Follow #inspirationMW on Thursday.

#familyMW

Friday March 27:

Friday is dedicated to families. This theme turns to pre-weekend planning for family trips to your local museum. Those responsible for school trips will also get lots of ideas from the museum community. Follow #familyMW on Friday.

#favMW

Saturday March 28:

The weekend kicks off Saturday with an invitation to share with your favourites. The organizers are suggesting favourites works, conferences, locations, and so on - in 140-character messages, videos, photos or Vines. Sounds like a nice wide-open book! Follow #favMW on Saturday.

#poseMW

Sunday March 29:

The weekend wraps up Sunday with an invitation to get creative and share poses, memes or selfies. Given all the recent controversy about museums banning selfie-sticks (which I happen to agree with), it should be a diverse mix of images and discussion. Maybe I'll post a picture of me outside a museum... Follow #poseMW on Sunday.


I hope this inspires you to check out Museum Week, and to have fun with it.

I'm not sure how I'll participate, but I am loosely planning to follow the hashtags, and possibly post a few things, especially on the days that appear to given over to sharing: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. 

Useful links:
Follow @MuseumWeek
Read #MuseumWeek tweets
What is #MuseumWeek?
List of museums participating worldwide (1800+)
7 days, 7 themes, 7 hashtags!
#MuseumWeek in other languages
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