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'From collection to connection': How museums are redefining themselves

DW English · May 16, 2026, 12:56 PM

Key takeaways

  • Gone are the days when museums were just places to see art and artifacts.
  • The curator was a priestess princess, and the museum was part of the palace complex, displaying artifacts from the region with informational labels in multiple languages.
  • Fast forward some 2,500 years, and museums no longer only offer stationary exhibits accompanied by written information.

Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.

Gone are the days when museums were just places to see art and artifacts. On International Museum Day, DW looks at how museums are becoming unique spaces of community engagement and participation.

https://p.dw.com/p/5DUARPilates at the museum: Visiting art in a new way Image: Thierry Thorel/MAXPPP/picture alliance Advertisement Around 530 BC, the world's first public museum opened its doors in the Mesopotamian state of Ur, in modern-day Iraq. The curator was a priestess princess, and the museum was part of the palace complex, displaying artifacts from the region with informational labels in multiple languages.

Fast forward some 2,500 years, and museums no longer only offer stationary exhibits accompanied by written information. From digitized collections to social media accounts to virtual reality, recent technology allows viewers to interact with collections in new ways.

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