By Darcel Choy Sunday, May 24 2009

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The Soap Kitchen had a few of their hand made soaps on display....

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Each year International Museum Day is celebrated by thousands of museums in different countries across the globe. The National Museum and Art Gallery being a member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) for many years has always participated in the observance of this international event through the hosting of various activities and workshops that seek to sensitise the public to the importance of museums and the work they do.

The theme of this year’s International Museum Day is “Museums and Tourism” and the National Museum Service celebrated that theme with a Craft and Culture Fair. The fair took place at the Museum of the City of Port-of-Spain, South Quay and involved some key stakeholders in the tourism industry.

The National Museum partnered with craft associations in order to highlight the rich and diverse culture of Trinidad and Tobago both to foreign nationals and to the many local persons who have yet to discover and enjoy the numerous aspects of this country’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Also involved were several independent museums and exhibits such as the Military Museum, the Indian Caribbean Heritage Museum and the Angostura Museum. Curator of Education at the National Museum, Lorraine Johnson stated that with these activities, the National Museum hopes to publicise the value of museums. “We want to bring museums to the forefront as we work to deepen the appreciation for arts and craft and for our culture,” she said.

Johnson believes that collaborative projects are important to museums because as dynamic institutions museums can only grow and develop by surpassing their own excellence, and forging partnerships is one way in which they can do that. “Museums are not static organisations and we need to keep them alive, keep the culture alive as Trinidad and Tobago’s heritage is our legacy to future generations,”she said.

The Craft and Culture Fair entertained visitors by encouraging tours to various historical and ecological sites across the country, craft displays, the sampling of local delicacies, film screenings, informative brochures, live entertainment and giveaways. The National Museum Service hopes that it will be seen as a key player in the development of Trinidad and Tobago as it pertains to economic diversification through sustainable cultural tourism.