SPECIAL THEME: BEST MUSEUMS IN BELGIUM & LUXEMBOURG
The Associations of Friends of Museums: an important cultural link Belgium is a country of museums, so it is not surprising that you will find a great deal of Friends of Museum associations. The oldest one was founded in Ghent in 1897 and has given some 500 paintings, sculptures and drawings to the museum in question. TEXT & PHOTOS: FÉDÉRATION DES AMIS DES MUSÉES DE BELGIQUE
All Friends of Museums entities share the same objectives to support museums and contribute to their development, awareness and influence among the general public. This link between a museum and its public makes sense. Friends of museums act on a voluntary basis. Their support may be moral, financial or provided through voluntary work, and they often run the shop of the museum. The Belgian Federation of Friends of Museums gathers some 30 associations: Friends of the Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Mariemont
and Tournai, and also Friends of the Museum of Musical Instruments, the University Museum in Louvain-la-Neuve, the Archaeological Museum in Arlon, the Horta Museum, the Belgian Museum of Freemasonry, the Bibliotheca Wittockiana. The federation’s main purpose is to promote the exchange of experiences and information among the members, among other things through an annual study day. The themes covered include voluntary work, donations and, as of last year, the question: What is the role of the Associations of Friends during financially difficult times?
In the Belgian cultural world, a specificity of the Federation of Friends of Museums is to be national and bilingual in a country where cultural matters very much depend on the communities. It makes the exchanges more interesting. The Belgian federation is a founding member of the World Federation of Friends of Museums, which has the same purpose on an international level: to promote the exchange of experiences, but thanks to networking through associations from all over the world. www.famb-fvmb.be Issue 29 | May 2016 | 33