Museums are Not ‘Secret Vaults’, say World’s Museum Leaders in Open Letter
In an open letter, 57 curators and directors from the world's most prestigious museums express their solidarity with the staff of the Louvre museum after the robbery that made global headlines.
Directors and curators at leading cultural institutions around the world have signed a letter in solidarity with the Musée du Louvre after it was robbed of some of its most precious artefacts on Sunday 19 October.
British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan, Taco Dibbits, director general of Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum and Max Hollein, head of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York are among 57 signatories to the open letter, which was published in Le Monde this week.
The open letter defended the Paris museum, saying the world’s cultural institutions were under threat from “unprecedented attacks”.
“This act has shaken us to the core,” said the letter. “Our institutions are not shielded from the world's brutality. Today, they face unprecedented attacks.
“The event that occurred last Sunday is what all museum professionals dread: The robbery of the common heritage we strive to preserve and share as widely as possible. For some of us, it recalls painful memories. Such risks threaten every institution. They weigh upon every artwork from the moment it is publicly displayed.”The letter said museums were “places of transmission and wonder” that must remain open and accessible to the public.
“Museums are not strongholds nor are they secret vaults,” the letter said. “Their essence, while creating the safest environment for art and its audiences, lies in their openness and accessibility.”
“In this time of hardship for the Louvre, we extend our heartfelt support to our colleagues there, and to its president-director, Laurence des Cars, whose leadership and dedication to the mission of museums, in particular as unifying spaces capable of mending our profoundly fractured societies, are deeply respected and admired,” the letter said.
“This heist is not only an attack on the Louvre, but on all museums and their fundamental mission: to share our common heritage as broadly as possible. We will pursue this mission, with passion and determination, alongside the Louvre.”