With the financial contribution of 541,666 USD, the Government of Norway sponsors a UNESCO project in the Ukrainian city of Lviv, centred on improving the museographical conditions of the Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life. The open-air Museum, which covers an area of 58 hectares and includes 124 buildings in its collection, recreates the Ukrainian villages of the past by displaying wooden houses and churches with associated artefacts according to ethnographic region.

Yet, regional museums such as this are facing increasing challenges in management capacities, collection care standards and overall museographical functions due to limited funds. When there is an ever greater need in sustaining vibrant museums in the face of growing unemployment, waning transmission of cultural traditions, and an alarming decline in educational services at primary and secondary school levels, the Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life can play an important role for local communities as a place for experiencing cultural heritage, for the transmission of living traditions, and for offering real learning and professional opportunities. A far-sighted vision shared by the entire group of stakeholders is needed to be built to address such challenges.

Drawing on the experience of the UNESCO/Norway FIT project, ‘The Revitalization of the G. Chitaia Open Air Museum of Ethnography’ in Tbilisi, Georgia; the Museums programme at UNESCO, in close collaboration with the Lviv City Council, launched in 2012 the Phase I of the project (Press coverage, Ukrainian) to combat the deteriorating conditions of the Museum’s architectural structures and the limited public awareness of the institution: namely by safeguarding and improving the museum’s capacity for collection management, conservation (both the architectural structures and its collection of movable objects), improving the museum’s overall operational capacities, in addition to developing public outreach and educational programmes to increase public awareness and local community participation.

The activities of Phase I (with a view to long-term sustainability through gradual achievements, and if possible, to develop the activities further in a second phase of the project), are:

1. Development of Museum Strategy and Management plan
2. Improvement of the conservation of the architectural structures
3. Improvement of collection Management and Conservation
4. Development of Public and Education Programmes

Duration of project: January 2012- December 2014 

Contact: Nao Hayashi Denis and Minji Song