Nelson Mandela Bay’s Museums and Heritage sector has initiated the collaboration of a group of Mandela Bay museums to celebrate International Museum Day by contributing to a small exhibition, A snapshot of museums in Mandela Bay. The exhibition will be displayed in the Middle Gallery at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum from 15 to 18 May 2008.

“This exhibition will serve to inform the public about the services and facilities our museums have to offer. It is also important for museums to work together to ensure that the services they provide are of the highest possible standards” says Nonceba Shoba, Principal Officer of Museums and Heritage in the Bay.

Participating museums are extending an invitation to all members of the public to attend a special International Museum Day event which will take place at the Art Museum on the evening of 15 May 2008 at 17:30. Anyone wishing to attend may contact the Art Museum on 041 5861030.

International Museum Day has been celebrated all over the world since 1977. Each year, a theme is decided on by an advisory committee. The event provides the opportunity for museum professionals to meet the public and alert them to the challenges that museums face if they are to be - as in the ICOM definition of museums - "an institution in the service of society and of its development". The theme for International Museum Day on 18 May 2008 is “Museums: Agents of social change and development” .