Luigi Micheletti Award

At a colourful ceremony held in Ljubljana Castle, Ljubljana, Slovenia, the results of the 2019 Micheletti Award was announced.

THE MICHELETTI AWARD was presented to ASTRA NATIONAL MUSEUM COMPLEX, SIBIU, ROMANIA. When the museum was established in 1963 its focus was on the technical side of Romanian rural patrimony, with its unique collection of mills for grinding, oil and fruit presses, sawmills and some peasant industries. Since the 1990s the message has changed. It is now the largest ethnographical open-air museum in Europe, with 400 buildings on an area of c.100 hectares. A living museum, it retains its traditional culture but puts more emphasis on immaterial patrimony. It hosts traditional fairs, workshops, folk festivals and performances as well as conferences, with visitors invited to work, learn and play alongside craftsmen, musicians and dancers. Romania’s rich heritage is on display, including that of all the minority ethnic groups. The Open Heritage project means that for the first time in an open-air museum the necessary infrastructure was built in order to generate and validate the whole Romanian rural story, regardless of ethnic origin. The institution undertakes research in many fields – museology, sociology, anthropology, photography, restoration and conservation. Revival of old craft centres has led to the emergence of young craftsmen and apprentices who have realised the value of exploiting inherited but neglected resources.

The judges said: The museum is deeply involved in connection the different ethnic minorities and their stories and puts a great deal of effort into supplementing this with all kinds of festivities, plays and demonstrations. The Open Heritage project is an excellent example of how important collaboration between cultural institutions from different countries can be for the development of all the partners and the world of museums as such. This can only be achieved with corresponding funding, of course. ASTRA is an innovative, creative open-air museum, organising its huge, rich collection in a way that highlights present-day issues such as migration, sustainability and biodiversity. We offer our sincere congratulations on what has been achieved so far and look forward to seeing even more innovations in the future.