Children at the Museum Automatic translate

In the largest museums in the world, debates are raging about at what age to open their doors to children, and how they should behave within cultural institutions. There are two opposing camps in this discussion: some believe that young children should be prohibited from visiting museums, and older children should be strictly monitored by parents, controlling the behavior of the younger generation; others are convinced that nobody has the preemptive right to enjoy great works of art, that is, no group of the population should be denied access to them.

The first camp insists that in museums, as in theaters, strict silence should be observed. So, parents should threaten their children with a finger every time the kids want to ask: “What is this?”, Or “Why is this so?”. But is that right? What are the norms of behavior and by whom are they established?

Many consider it a role model for the tradition of Victorian England, when the child was to be seen, but not heard. They are sure that parents should take the code of conduct of those times as a model and give their children a proper upbringing. But then women should appear in public only with gloves and conduct not too smart conversations, so as not to embarrass men. Otherwise, where is justice?

It should be borne in mind that norms of behavior in public places are not dogmas or unwavering postulates. They depend on time and place. So, for example, it is now customary to listen to classical music in complete silence, with your hands on your knees. However, according to the letters of Mozart, we can judge that in his time the attitude to the composer’s work was clarified with loud applause or public comments right during the performance by the author of a symphony or sonata. Also in the first theater of England - the famous Globe, where Shakespeare was staging his works, there was always such a roar in the hall that on the balcony it was only with difficulty that you could hear the speech of Romeo or Juliet.

So why should we leave our children at home, playing computer games, instead of taking them to the gallery and instilling in them a sense of beauty from an early age? To some extent, a solution has already been found - more than 500 cultural institutions around the world have committed themselves to supporting the “Children in the Museum” program, which includes the creation of dynamic documents created by visitors and dedicated to the rules of the child’s behavior in such places. The same practice could be adopted by museums and theaters in Kaluga , Moscow, St. Petersburg and in all cities of Russia. After all, this question is also quite tough with us. It is necessary to understand where the line is drawn between respect for works of art and education of the correct perception of the world in our children.

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru