20th night at the Muséeën

On Saturday 9 October, Luxembourg-city’s 7 museums open their doors to visitors for the Museum Night's 20^th edition. The event features guided tours by content creators, musical and dance performances as well as interactive workshops.

A curated and varied selection

“This year, unlike the last years, we chose not to pick a specific theme, because our aim was to celebrate the event’s 20^th anniversary,” says Kyra Thielen, coordinator of the cultural and educational service of the Villa Vauban and Luxembourg City Museum. Though the 20^th edition was originally supposed to take place in 2020, it was cancelled due to the pandemic. Instead of a theme, Thielen and her team focused on booking musicians and artists that are well-established in Luxembourg. “It fits with the theme of our museums. The Luxembourg City Museum presents the history of the city,” she explains. “And since July, the Villa Vauban has a permanent exhibition showcasing the city’s art collection. It suits that the performers in our two museums would be in Luxembourg.”

Though Thielen specifies that she cannot comment on the selection process of the other museums, the programme seems to reflect the city of Luxembourg too: jazz musicians, dance performances and spectacles are offered in French, English and Luxembourgish, reflecting the city’s mixed population. “I think this year’s coups de coeurs are going to be particularly good,” Thielen says with a grin.

Content creators of all backgrounds

Presented as the event’s highlights, seven content creators have each been assigned one museum, where they chose one object or element that they would explore with their audience. According to Thielen, since they are content creators, they were given complete freedom regarding the form of their guided tours. At the Luxembourg City Museum, for instance, French-Luxembourgish artist Thomas Iser will involve the audience in his photography project “Universal Humanity”. The Casino will feature creator Anastasia Pierucci, who represents the LGBTQ+ community in her work. Joseph Rodesch, known as Mr Science, will accompany visitors to the Natur Musée.

Returning after a setback

The sanitary crisis represented one of the bigger challenges encountered by the organisers. “We knew we wanted the 20^th anniversary to happen this year--we just didn’t know what shape it would take. It was only in July that we received confirmation that we would have CovidCheck,” says Thielen. According to her, organising the event under CovidCheck regulations was a challenge because of the increased number of staff needed. However, she is grateful that it was put in place, as this allows for more visitors and events, such as cellist Anémie Osborn’s musical promenade.

The CovidCheck aspect of the event had another upside: at each museum, visitors will be able to snack on “culinary surprises”, as the event’s page describes it. Peruvian tapas, Luxembourgish wines, burgers and other food trucks provide catering all night long. Visitors who want to burn those calories can even walk the mile-long circuit that unites the seven museums. For those less motivated to do so, shuttle buses connecting the museums are made available.

More information concerning the event can be found on .