Experience a ‘night at the museum’, just like in the movies! Discover the night tours in Guayaquil for International Museum Day

He International Museum Day (IMD) is a date celebrated annually around May 18 around the world, coordinated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). This day offers museum professionals the opportunity to meet the public and make them aware of the role that museums play in the development of society.

In Ecuador is the ICOM delegate Hugo Calle Forrest, Director of EOD MAAC, entity that a series of activities to celebrate the occasion in the museums of the network, consisting of the Nahim Isaías, Presley Norton, Amantes de Sumpa, Anthropological Museum of Contemporary Art and the Historical Archives of Guayas.

During the month, the network even ran a sequence events to commemorate the importance of museumss, starting with the first museum fair which took place on the weekend of May 5 and 6.

But the pièce de résistance will be unveiled on Thursday 18 Maywhen the above mentioned museums develop night tours on this date, which lasts until 9 p.m. The appointment is also an opportunity to experiment with this scheme, which according to Calle, museologist and cultural manager, better meet the needs of the public.

“It is necessary to change exactly the way they work in our cityBecause museums generally have hours that don’t meet the needs of the public. The hours are from 10am to 5pm, office hours, when people leave work between 5pm and 6pm and are no longer able to attend. That’s why we decided to do this exercise for now”.

Plus, the special day includes, explains Calle brokerage activitieswhich differs from the traditional guides that take place in museums.

“In the guide, the visitor goes to the site and what the guide does is simply guide him, give him information about what is being observed. In the mediated tour, the visitor is forced to participate in the theme of the exhibition, with workshops, fun activities and exercises also in accordance with the didactic resources available to museums,” Calle clarifies.

only in the MAAC (Board and Loja) there will be artistic presentations in the lobby, including a tango show and a rap showas well as activities with the replicas of the Valdivia figurine, related to the permanent exhibition of that site, titled 10,000 years old Ecuador, from the Archaeological Fund of the MAAC. The idea is that the visitor can interact with the mediator and the collections, “so that the public can also develop its own learning process.”

The following exhibitions are currently also open at the MAAC: Hidden Paradises of Ecuadoran exhibition full of jungle, mountains, rivers and faces of our country through the lens of artist Manuela Avilés; perceptual the artist Jorge Arce; And The metals by the visual artist from Cuenca Edgar Carrasco.

In the Nahim Isaiah you can appreciate more than 2,000 pictorial and sculptural works from the 16th to the 18th centuries and republican art from the 19th century. Address: Pichincha en Aguirre, Administration Square.

He Presley Norton It has an important archeology collection of nearly 8,000 artifacts from the cultures that settled the coasts of present-day Ecuador that belonged to Guayaquil archaeologist Presley Norton Yoder (1932-1993). Address: Avenida 9 de Octubre en Carchi.

The Historical Archives of Guayas is a documentary collection of incunabula (printed in the 15th century) and manuscripts. Address: Street Alberto Borges and Av. de las Americas #1126.

For his part, he sump lovers It is the oldest archaeological site on the Ecuadorian coast, where the burial of a Las Vegas culture couple was discovered approximately between 5,000 and 6,000 BC. C. and the remains of the ancient peninsulas.

“We invite all citizens to learn more about their history, to find themselves through museums, because they are not only repositories of memory and heritage, but also spaces of reflection. They are forums where visitors can also talk about their future and the problems we are currently facing.”

Guided tours of the Las Peñas neighborhood

To end the month of museums in a festive way, Every Saturday and Sunday of the month there are guided tours in the Las Peñas districtby the students of the School of Tourism of the Espiritu Santo University Technologicala strategic ally of the MAAC network.

The meeting point is exactly the MAAC lobby, at three times: 10:00 AM, 11:30 AM and 2:30 PM, where groups of up to 20 people depart with the guides.

The walk starts in El Fortín de la Planchada, continues through the house of Antonio Neumane, the house of Calderón and the house of the visual artist. Heritage buildings will be visited where the mediator will highlight the traditional architecture of Guayaquil.

“We will be working on this before the month of May, we will gradually implement new routes both on foot and by bicycle,” promises Calle in his work proposal, which began in February this year. “We want the MAAC to be an intercultural, accessible and inclusive museum for all the diverse communities that inhabit the city”.