Open Doors talk explores museum's civic education role

The fourth Open Doors talk, organized by Fondazione Brescia Musei with Fondazione Scuola dei beni e delle attività culturali and the Network of European Museum Organizations, will examine how museums can foster social cohesion and emotional management. Titled "La partecipazione che educa," the free event takes place Wednesday, June 22 at 16:30 both online and at the auditorium of Santa Giulia in Brescia. Arūnas Gelūnas, director of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art since 2019, former Lithuanian Minister of Culture, UNESCO representative, and professor at Vilnius University, discusses the museum's role as a civic educator. Gelūnas notes that museums have always been agents of growth, but engaging adults remains challenging; innovative, empathetic methods are needed to present museums as spaces for relaxation and socializing. He emphasizes that museums must compensate for modern information overload by offering authentic, physical experiences—unlike digital screens. On technology, he compares the internet to a knife: useful or harmful depending on use, but physical reality will never go out of style. Regarding politics and culture, Gelūnas states that in Lithuania, emerging from Soviet occupation 32 years ago, culture was fundamental to identity formation; Italian politicians cannot ignore cultural heritage without political suicide. He insists museum directors must be politically engaged and responsive to societal needs.