So good it's happening twice: Museums at Night 2015 to take place in May and October
This article originally appeared on Culture24.
Festival extends to six nights, returning public vote to send six artists to competition winners
Grayson Perry at the Yorkshire Museum and Gardens in 2014. The artist was part of the Museums at Night public vote, which will return as Connect! for 2015© Kippa MatthewsThe festival will take place in May and October. Connect! – a successor to the Connect10 competition, in which venues “won” events devised by various high-profile artists last year – will put six artists to the public vote during the winter edition.
“After record numbers of visitors in 2014, the festival will take another giant leap forward in 2015, doubling the number of event nights to six and extending to October as well as an extra day in May,” says Nick Stockman, the festival’s Campaign Manager, who oversaw 700 events across the country last year.
“We are really excited about the opportunity this gives venues to offer visitors something new and exciting, particularly those people who don’t usually visit museums and galleries.”
Arts Council England is funding Connect!, which gave the Yorkshire Museum a Grayson Perry-led treasure bear hunt and sent infamous pair Jake and Dinos Chapman to their hometown of Hastings during recent festivals.
“I sometimes think museums are at their best out of hours,” suggests John Orna-Ornstein, the Director of Museums for the group.
“Museums at Night brings the opportunity for people everywhere to engage with brilliant objects and museums close to their home in fun, quirky and stimulating ways.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what the artists involved in Connect! 2015 have in store for us. We had incredible feedback following last year’s unique artist-led events.”
More than 62,000 people voted in the competition in 2014. Now in its seventh year, Museums at Night ties in with the European La Nuit des Musées.
- Museums at Night takes place from May 13-16 and October 30-31 2015. Visit museumsatnight.org.uk. The artists taking part in Connect! 2015 will be announced soon.
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