Preservation of the Zhytomyr Regional Museum of Local Lore collections
Protecting the treasures of national culture is the objective and calling of the museum workers. Thanks to the EU, they received the necessary equipment to rescue the unique collection from the aggressor and, in the future, they plan to promote artworks of Ukrainian masters of traditional crafts across Europe and the whole world.
Russian war will not stop Ukrainian culture
About the project
Russian aggression does not only target territory, infrastructure and people’s lives. It also brings destruction of libraries, educational institutions, museums, as well as the looting and depredation of priceless national cultural heritage collections. Ukrainian cultural heritage and identity is under fire.
Therefore, the issue of rescue, conservation and restoration of museum collections has become one of the most urgent among the current objectives for Ukraine and the entire civilised world.
The protection of a collection covers all aspects, from its inventory to the quality of its storage. Thanks to the project implementation, the Zhytomyr Regional Museum of Local Lore received the required equipment to preserve its own collections: photographic equipment and hard drives for creating and preserving copies of exhibits, moisture absorbers to safely store the artefacts and provide them from deterioration, fire extinguishers and fireproof cabinets to protect collections from the potential destructive external factors affected by combat. However, Zhytomyr museum workers do not plan to limit themselves to these steps. They are already thinking about how to promote the unique artworks of Ukrainian masters of traditional crafts peculiar to their region in Europe and the rest of the world.
Project timeline: April 2022
Project supported by
The ALIPH Foundation (International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas) is the main global fund exclusively dedicated to protecting cultural heritage that has become endangered during hostilities or after a conflict. ALIPH finances concrete projects carried out on the ground, hand-in-hand with local partners, authorities, and communities. From March 2022 to June 2023, with financial support also from the EU, ALIPH supported 310 cultural organisations in Ukraine.
Read more about the ALIPH Foundation: https://www.aliph-foundation.org/en
Project implemented by
The Zhytomyr Museum of Local Lore originates from the museum at the Russian Public Library in Zhytomyr, founded in October 1865. Today, the Zhytomyr Regional Museum of Local Lore’s collection stores more than 160,000 artefacts providing holistic information about the nature, history, and culture of the Zhytomyr region. Among them, there is one of the best natural collections in Ukraine, which includes a unique taxidermy collection of fauna (collection of stuffed animals) of Zhytomyr area, archaeological items from the excavations of Zhytomyr and Radomyshl Palaeolithic sites. The museum also hosts a number of museum facilities of the Zhytomyr region located both in the city and outside, as branches and outlets.