International Museum Day (IMD) falls this week on May 18, celebrating the role of museums as a medium for cultural exchange and enrichment.
This year’s theme is Hyperconnected museums: New approaches, new publics, homing in on the way technology has paved the way for new audiences, looking at modern connectivity, multimedia and digitalisation and how museums fit in within it all. Last year, IMD garnered record-breaking participation with more than 36,000 museums hosting events across 156 countries.
In one sense, we’ve been managing this sort of connectivity for years… finding secure and reliable ways to move artefacts around the world so they can be consumed by people who might not otherwise have access.
But freight shipped through our Secure product is no regular cargo. When moving priceless artefacts, regulations are stringent and the security measures we observe ensure that no one who is not authorised to be near the piece can access it. It’s up to us to make sure it is handled with the highest levels of care, taking every step to eliminate risk to the shipment.
Last year, we partnered with London’s National Gallery for the transit of one of its seminal exhibitions, Monochrome: Painting in Black and White exhibition, which displayed spectacular paintings by the likes of Picasso, Rembrandt and Richter. Since then, the exhibition has moved onto Dusseldorf’s Museum Kunstpalast.
Minimising risk is the focus for those that work within our Secure product. Our custom-built handling area allows us to do this – every person that comes into contact with a high-value piece will be stringently vetted, including the customer. All items are monitored 24/7 using CCTV and manned patrols, including when they’re locked in our vault.
We’re incredibly proud of our role in keeping museums connected – our trusted service has earned us partnerships from iconic establishments such as the British Museum. And with the help of our partners, we hope our work will guarantee the future of cultural exchange for years to come.