#MuseumWeek 2016: Italy Dominates Twitter Art Festival

The 2016 edition of #MuseumWeek on Twitter concluded on April 3, generating over 664,000 tweets and 294 million impressions, up from 600,000 tweets and 237 million impressions in 2015. The event, launched in France in 2014, saw participation from more than 3,500 institutions worldwide. For the first time, the seven daily hashtags were selected by the public. Italy led with 355 museums, placing three in the top five: Massaciuccoli romana (@MassaciuccoliRo) first, Museo Corona Arrubbia (@Coronarrubia) second, and Museo Bergallo (@museobergallo) fifth, between the British Museum (third) and Musée du Louvre (fourth). Other notable Italian participants included Museo Tattile di Varese, Museo Archeologico del Distretto Minerario Rio nell'Elba, and Museo Archeologico di Cagliari. Key tweets included a Periscope tour of the Uffizi by director Giulio Base, a tweet from Minister of Cultural Heritage Dario Franceschini, and daily meme reminders from MiBACT. The most followed hashtag was #architectureMW, followed by #heritageMW and #loveMW. Prisca Cupellini, digital manager at MAXXI Rome, noted increased museum awareness but warned against self-referentiality. Silvio Salvo of Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo stressed the need to engage new audiences. The article also highlights Sergio Ragone's Instagram project #LuogoIdeale, promoting Matera, European Capital of Culture 2019, through local traditions.