Valencia is celebrating. The ETNO, the Valencian Museum of Ethnology, has been recognized this weekend as the best European museum of this 2023. An award given during the EMYA museum conference held in the Tinell room of the Barcelona History Museum (MUHBA), which for three days has welcomed almost 300 registered people from 33 museums in 18 European countries.
The jury believes that ETNO is deserving of this distinction because it “operates with a strong ethical foundation and a passionate commitment to bring about positive change in the region, and courageously confronts the past to navigate an uncertain future.”
The museum “values ​​open and inclusive dialogue and strives to offer universal access to visitors”, they have highlighted from the organization, while adding that “through the exchange and discussion of hidden stories, the museum seeks to honor the right of local communities to understand their past and acknowledge their painful experiences”.
The Valencian representative for Culture, Xavier Rius, has congratulated the entire team for an exhibition “that makes us reflect on who we are, in an increasingly globalized society and to which we contribute our uniqueness, a value that identifies and empowers us”.
Any type of museum that meets one of these three conditions can apply for these awards: being a new museum, having opened in the last three years, or being a consolidated museum that has renewed its organization and completed a substantial program of modernization and expansion of its facilities. buildings and galleries.
The event also grants the Portimão Museum of Reception, Inclusion and Belonging award, which this edition has been allocated to Chillida Leku, the exhibition space of the Basque artist Hernani.
Other awards include the Council of Europe award for a museum that has made a significant contribution to defending human rights and democratic citizenship; Kenneth Hudson’s for institutional courage and professional integrity; the Silletto for community participation and commitment and the Meyvaert Museum for environmental sustainability.
It also awards special mentions to museums that have developed a new and innovative approach to specific aspects of their public service and from which other European museums can learn.
