Description
The project involves renovation and conservation works, digitalization of the Stanislavian Theatre’s interiors, two new permanent sculpture expositions and making the theatre available as cultural heritage and new educational space, promotion activities. The project addresses a number of significant issues, including progressing degradation of the site, limited access to the site and its collections for a wider audience, exposure of the building and collections to different hazards, limited means for conservation of exhibits and for documentation and for development of a new cultural and educational offer. The project aims are: increasing the access to a high-quality cultural and education offer to diverse audience groups and protecting cultural heritage, providing new means for exposition of sculptures and implementation of cultural and theatre programme. Target groups: Polish and foreign tourists; persons with disabilities; museums; lokal community. The project will be run in partnership with Østfold Museum Foundation in Norway as an advisor/consultant. The collaboration main aim is experience exchange through different forms of cooperation.
Summary of project results
The project was accomplished by Royal Lazienki Museum in Warsaw in partnership with Østfold Museum Foundation in Norway. The project involved: - construction, renovation and conservation works covering the Old Orangery with Stanislavian Theatre and surrounding area, - conservation of a group of marble sculptures from the back rooms of the Stanislavian Theatre, - digitalization of the Stanislavian Theatre’s interiors to support the research programme, - creation of two new sculpture expositions and creation of educational spaces, - cooperation with the Norwegian partner, focusing on conservatory supervision and making the theatre available as cultural heritage, - promotional activities. The project results are: preservation of the Old Orangery, making it suitable to serve as a cultural and educational facility, rearrangement of the interiors, adaptation of the Stanislavian Theatre for regular use, development of a new concept of arrangement of the exposition and a complementary cultural program addressed to all age groups, including the disabled. The scope of new curatorial and education activities includes: - new exposition of sculptures and plaster casts from the Royal Collection, including the uncovered polychromies by Johann Chrystian Kamsetzer; - the Stanislavian Theatre; - the Polish Sculpture Gallery; - new education spaces: a projection room, a moulding plant and a workshop room. The project resolved a number of significant issues, including: - progressing degradation of the site - rare 18th-century monument; - limited access to the site and its collections for a wider audience; - exposure of the building and collections to different hazards; - limited means of conservation of exhibits; - limited means of documentation; - need for development of a new cultural and educational offer. The project enhanced bilateral relations between Donor States, represented by Østfold Museum Foundation from Norway and Beneficiary State. The direct objectives of the project: to increase the access to a high-quality cultural and education offer to diverse audience groups and to protect cultural heritage through renovation and conservation works were accomplished - the number of visitors increased from 41 170 in year 2014, to 81 950 in year 2016. The project also gained several prizes for adaptation of the building and exposition for disabled persons.
Summary of bilateral results
Within the project institution involved developed the following areas of cooperation: 1. CONSERVATION OF MONUMENTS, DIGITALIZATION AND MODERN TECHNIQUES FOR STORAGE SYSTEMS IN MUSEUMS – research area and practice area As part of the renovation and conservation of the Old Orangery, the Royal Łazienki Museum conducted examinations of the interiors of the Royal (Stanislavian) Theatre (including digitalization) for conservation purposes, i.e. for the assessment and monitoring of the preservation status of the facility. The co-operation with the Fredrikshalds Teater allowed to extend the scope of research in order to include comparative studies on the impact of the facility usage on the preservation status and conservation conditions as well as to develop conservation guidelines. As a result, gathered data and exchanging experience are valuable from the perspective of conservation efforts and allow to optimize the operational conditions of the facility as well as to prevent possible threats. 2. EXHIBITIONS The Partnership was an opportunity to exchange curator experience in the fields such as multimedia in activities related to museum exhibitions, adaptation of facilities and exhibitions to the needs of disabled visitors, activities aimed at social inclusion in the museum and educational areas, arrangement of exhibition, magazines and educational spaces with a particular emphasis on historic theatre interiors. 3. EDUCATION The Partners created a joint educational module devoted to the theatre basing on experiences of the Polish and Norwegian educators. Workshops was designed to provide a direct presentation of drama educational methods of the Education Centre of the Royal Łazienki Museum and to allow a joint development of an educational action using the theatre potential of the Norwegian Partner and adapted to its specific character, tested in the Fredrikshalds Teater. The project enhanced bilateral relations between Østfold Museum Foundation from Norway and Lazienki Krolewskie Museum, which can be further developed in new initiatives concerning education and cultural heritage.