Sonntag, 22. März 2009

~Long Night of the Museums

An idea unashamedly copied from the Heidelberg/Ludwigshaven/Mannheim event held on the 21.3.9, and popular around Germany, I think it would be easily transferred to the festival state.
For one night, all the museums and art galleries in the city are open, say from 1900 to 0200. There are specially commissioned street performances, and food and drink is available at most venues. For me and my friends it was a very interesting and enjoyable Saturday night. There were many couples, and earlier in the night even children. 

In Adelaide, such an evening would be as close as possible to the actual winter solstice (the longest night) as possible. This would suit the name, and add a much-needed winter event to the Festival State's calendar. In my mind, this is when Northern Lights would re-appear. All the state-owned museums and art galleries would be open till 0200, and private institutions would be encouraged to join in. The Botanic Garden would be open for nocturnal walks, and the Zoo would offer the chance to see some of the nocturnal animals fully active. The Himeiji Garden on South Tce could play host to some Japanese artworks, and there are any number of possible permutations and ideas which would make this an ever-changing, always exciting annual event. 
Beyond Adelaide, both Glenelg and the Port offer satellite constellations of museums and art galleries. With a late-night tram and train service to these places, they too could benefit.
One ticket- a wrist band, or a card- would offer unlimited entry to all museums, art galleries and other events, and count as a bus ticket for the night. 
Additional late-night bus services would be provided- besides the normal Saturday services, Museum-Express lines would be designed to shuttle people from place to place.  

I think this idea has little potential to be an international tourist draw-card. There would not be any international names, only local museums (some of which are admittedly high in international regard). I have always looked with disdain on such local events being billed as encouraging international tourist. Only insofar as it adds to Adelaide's reputation is it so. Nonetheless, it would provide an extra impetus for interstate visitors during the usually quiet winter months, and be a great source of entertainment for those who call Adelaide home. The ACC, Holdfast Bay and Port-Adelaide Enfield councils should consider working with the SA Government to make it a reality.

Keine Kommentare: