Dubai Culture marks International Museum Day with free entry to museums

Museums include Dubai Museum, Al Fahidi Fort, Etihad Museum and Coin Museum

Etihad Museum is granting free entry to all visitors to mark International Museum Day on May 18. Courtesy Dubai Culture

Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) is providing free entry to its museums across the emirate to celebrate International Museum Day on Tuesday.

The day was established by the International Council of Museums in 1977 and highlights the role of museums as sites of cultural exchange. Every year, the council puts together events around a theme to mark the occasion, with this  year's theme as The Future of Museums: Recover and Recreate.

In recent years, up to 37,000 museums from 158 countries have participated in marking the day.

Muna Faisal Algurg, director of the museums department and acting chief executive officer of the culture & heritage sector at Dubai Culture, affirmed the importance of commemorating International Museum Day to highlight museums as pioneering cultural and educational destinations.

She added that the initiative to grant the public free access to Dubai Culture’s museums, which includes the Etihad Museum that looks at the country’s social, political, cultural and military history, will provide visitors with the opportunity to enjoy unique tours that would enrich their knowledge of the UAE’s heritage.

Dubai Culture also operates museums such as the Dubai Museum and Al Fahidi Fort. The museum traces the various developments, displaying the marine, coastal, desert and agricultural lives of locals in days past. It also includes antique objects found within the region, from pottery to weapons and tombs.

The fort was built in 1787 as a fort of defence on royal premises before it was converted into an arsenal for weapons. The fort eventually opened as a museum in 1971.

The full list of the museums run by Dubai Culture are as follows:

• Etihad Museum
• Coin Museum
• Naif Museum
• Al Shindaga Museum
• Dubai Museum and Al Fahidi Fort
• Museum of the Poet Al Oqaili