From Saturday 3rd to Sunday 18th of April, 22 Brussels museums will be open free of charge to higher education students. “Free Museums for Students” is the name of this initiative. It is the first one of its kind on a national scale.
Last February, during the week of Carnival, the Alderwoman of Culture, Tourism and Major Events of the City of Brussels, Delphine Houba, launched a free operation for students in 7 Brussels museums. The main goal was to respond to the isolation of young people by offering them, without paying a single euro, to enjoy the rich collections and exhibitions of the City’s museums. The result of this first operation: more than 3,500 students took part.
This demonstrates that most of our museums, despite the crisis and the difficulties they are going through, are enthusiastically embracing an unprecedented initiative to support young people, who are particularly affected by the effects of the health crisis
Alderwoman of Culture, Tourism and Major Events of the City of Brussels, Delphine Houba
In light of this success, the action is being repeated during the two weeks of the spring vacations. With 15 additional museums joining the program, be they municipal, regional, private or federal, the “Free Museums for Students” action is a first.
“Thanks to the cooperation of Secretary of State Thomas Dermine, we can broaden our scope of action since a number of federal scientific institutions will participate in this operation. We can also count on the participation of other private and regional institutions,” said Ms Houba.
By offering them a breath of fresh air after months without student life, the alderwoman brings a concrete answer to the harmful effects of the pandemic on the mental health of young people: “Culture is not only essential to a project of solidarity and emancipation, it is essential to our well-being and our development”.
To take advantage of this benefit, graduate students will simply need to book their visit by phone and/or on the website of each museum. They will be asked to present their student card at the entrance of the museum.
Such an action, unique in its scope and unprecedented in its nature, is taking place in a particularly complicated context for Brussels museums, which are experiencing significant losses in ticket sales due to health constraints. By launching the “Free Museums For Students” campaign, the City of Brussels is creating a cultural synergy that is unprecedented at the European level, for the benefit of one of the audiences most affected by the health crisis.
