Museums in Poland

Museums in Poland operate under the Museum Act, dated 21st November 1996. According to its provisions, a museum is: “a non-profit organizational entity which collects and preserves the natural and cultural heritage of man- kind, both tangible and intangible, informs about the values and contents of its collections, diffuses the fundamental values of Polish and world history, science and culture, fosters cognitive and aesthetic sensitivity, and provides access to the collected holdings.”

With a view to ensuring the achievement of these objectives, museums perform a wide range of statutory activities. On the one hand, their focus is on expanding their collections, keeping them in adequate environments and maintaining them in the condition of proper preservation, as well as cat- aloguing collection objects according to scientific classification principles. On the other hand, it is the responsibility of museums to provide access to their collections to scholars and to the wider public, through permanent and temporary exhibitions, as well as other events. Furthermore, museums are active in the field of education, publishing and research.

Different estimates put the number of museums in Poland at between 844 and 964, depending on how these institutions are defined. Neverthe- less, the number of museums that have coordinated their charters or rules and regulations with the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage can be identified precisely: in 2016, there were 652 such institutions. The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage also keeps the National Register of Muse- ums, whose purpose is to uphold high standards of classification, preserva- tion, conservation, and popularisation of museum objects and collections. As of the end of July 2016, 124 institutions were listed in the Register.

Hence, the map of Polish institutions of culture might seem over-sat- urated with museums. Over the last quarter-century, indeed, there have been (and still are) many initiatives to create new, or modernise existing museums in our country. Yet, when viewed against other European states (in terms of the number of museums per 100,000 residents), Poland does not appear as a “land of museums”. In 2014, the rate in Poland equalled just 2.22, while in Lithuania it was 3.50, in Portugal 3.80, in Spain 3.20, in Croatia 6.6, in Finland 6, in Latvia 7.30, and in Switzerland as high as 14.

Statistical data show that Poles are increasingly eager to visit museums, this trend translating into a gradual annual attendance growth. This means that, contrary to common stereotypes, these institutions are regarded by Polish society as important players in public life in the fields of culture, sci- ence, entertainment and remembrance policy. Nearly every statistical citi-

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zen of Poland living in the country on a permanent basis, visits a museum at least once a year.

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When evaluating our knowledge about the museum sector, one should ad- mit that it still remains incomplete and is mainly based on microeconomic data collected by the Central Statistical Office of Poland, on reports focus- sing on some segments of museum operations, and on researchers’ intui- tive perceptions.

For this reason, in December 2013, the National Institute for Museums and Public Collections initiated, in consultation with the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, a project titled Museum Statistics, aimed at creating a database that is intended to become a comprehensive source of knowl- edge about the condition of the Polish museum sector. All museums – re- gardless of their legal status, organisational form, size, structure and scope of activity – are invited to participate in the project survey each year. The project has become a tool which enables an annual update of information about the activities of institutions that operate in the museum sector.

When implementing the Museum Statistics project at the National Insti- tute for Museums and Public Collections, we do keep in mind that its prima- ry aim is not to collect data, but to set up a diagnostic basis for modernisa- tion and change in museums. Following this approach, we are presenting a report with the project summary and analysis of data collected over the last three years. The publication can also be accessed at the National In- stitute for Museums and Public Collections website (www.nimoz.pl) and theMuseum Statistics project website (www.statystykamuzeow.pl).

While presenting this publication to the reader, I should also like to ex- tend my most sincere thanks to the Project Experts, who made the effort to collect the statistical data, as well as to the National Institute for Museums and Public Collections staff (including in particular Ms Monika Czartoryjs- ka, the Financial Support Manager and Ms Katarzyna Skomorucha-Figiel, the Museum Statistics Project Co-ordinator). But most of all, I would like to thank our Colleagues working in Polish museums, who, through filling and submitting the questionnaire forms, have made a great contribution to the success of this project. They are the main target group of this publication.

Piotr Majewski, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw Director of the National Institute for Museums and Public Collections