Museums in Poland have been developing rapidly throughout the past decade. Many magnificent new buildings were constructed, and hundreds of exhibitions were created. They attract millions of visitors every year and won numerous awards. Yet still, behind the scenes, museums keep struggling with same old challenges related to collections management that need to be taken care of in a sustainable manner. Polish museums store approximately 20 million objects, out of which only approximately 5% are exhibited, the rest remain in storage. Only the largest museums have climate-controlled storage space and only a few have their own conservation and digitization labs. The cost of creating such a professional space for each museum is very high and not always justified. Hence the idea of creating a common facility combining many types of high-level services available to all museums. PANOPTIKUM - a competence center for museums is inspired by similar facilities operating mainly in northern Europe. The first concept behind this project by National Institute for Museums (NIM) was created in 2016. In successive years numerous researchers, engineers and museum experts were involved in the development of the initial idea, introducing solutions that will balance high conservation requirements and environment-friendly standards, making the project both sustainable and cost-effective due to low energy consumption. Funding for the design and construction phase is secured by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, applying for EU funding for following stages is now in process. The construction works of PANOPTIKUM, located in central Poland, started in 2022 and the opening is scheduled for early 2026. The multifunctional facility will consist of storage space, conservation studios, diagnostic labs, as well as an educational and conference area. PANOPTIKUM, as a branch of NIM, will provide a wide range of services for museums and it can also serve as safe haven in times of crisis. The storage space will follow the RE-ORG methodology by ICCROM, which NIM is promoting nationwide via its training schemes. PANOPTIKUM is aimed to meet the highest standards, and thus not only serve the museums’ needs but also set a new point of reference for excellence in museum sector.
PANOPTIKUM will serve many different purposes:
- storage (passive, high and low level storage systems, divided into sections: cool, cold, dry and treasury)
- conservation (labs for the conservation of wood, paintings
and painted sculpture, metals and composite artefacts,
paper, leather and textiles), preventive conservation - fumigation chambers
- digitization and X-ray
- education space
- conference venue for up to 150 participants equipped with simultaneous translation cabins, and audio and video facilities
- educational rooms, IT workstations, administration.
Contact: panoptikum@nim.gov.pl