Wpływ pandemii COVID-19 na sektor kultury na całym świecie był bardzo silny. Od samego początku stało się jasne, że zmiany wynikające z wprowadzonych ograniczeń nie pozostaną obojętne dla działalności muzeów i galerii. Według przewidywań UNESCO z maja 2020 roku 10% muzeów dotkniętych skutkami pandemii miało nie zostać ponownie otwartych. To dotyczyło ogromnej liczby 8 550 muzeów, które mogły nigdy się nie otworzyć. Zderzenie instytucji kultury z nową rzeczywistością określono jako „dramatyczne” i nazwano „szokiem kulturowym”. Muzea musiały szybko zareagować na niespodziewane wydarzenia. COVID-19 uwypuklił wiele słabości organizacyjnych i infrastrukturalnych całego sektora. Jedną z nich była nieobecność lub jedynie niewielka obecność muzeów w sieci internetowej. Tymczasem to właśnie internet, w obliczu „przymusowego zamknięcia” budynków użyteczności publicznej, stał się jedynym możliwym kanałem pozwalającym na zachowanie ciągłości działalności w zakresie upubliczniania zbiorów. W wyniku przekształcenia wielu zaplanowanych wcześniej wydarzeń kulturalnych w ich wersje wirtualne cyfrowa tranzycja muzeów wydaje się głównym skutkiem oddziaływania pandemii na instytucje muzealne na polu ich kulturotwórczej działalności.

Museums on the Internet in response to the „culture shock” of the COVID-19 pandemic

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the cultural sector worldwide has been severe. From the beginning, it became clear that the changes resulting from the restrictions would not be without an impact on the operations of museums and galleries. According to UNESCO’s May 2020 projections, 10% of the museums affected by the pandemic were not expected to reopen. This included a huge number of 8,550 museums that might never open. The collision of cultural institutions with the new reality was described as “dramatic” and called a “culture shock.” Museums had to react quickly to the unexpected. Covid-19 highlighted many organizational and infrastructural weaknesses throughout the sector. One of them was the absence or only a small presence of museums on the Internet. Meanwhile, it was the Internet that, in the face of the “forced closure” of public buildings, became the only possible channel to maintain the continuity of the business of making collections public. As a result of the transformation of many previously planned cultural events into their virtual versions, the digital transit of museums seems to be the main effect of the pandemic’s impact on museum institutions in the field of their cultural activities.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the cultural sector worldwide has been severe. From the beginning, it became clear that the changes resulting from the restrictions would not be without an impact on the operations of museums and galleries. According to UNESCO’s May 2020 projections, 10% of the museums affected by the pandemic were not expected to reopen. This included a huge number of 8,550 museums that might never open. The collision of cultural institutions with the new reality was described as “dramatic” and called a “culture shock.” Museums had to react quickly to the unexpected. Covid-19 highlighted many organizational and infrastructural weaknesses throughout the sector. One of them was the absence or only a small presence of museums on the Internet. Meanwhile, it was the Internet that, in the face of the “forced closure” of public buildings, became the only possible channel to maintain the continuity of the business of making collections public. As a result of the transformation of many previously planned cultural events into their virtual versions, the digital transit of museums seems to be the main effect of the pandemic’s impact on museum institutions in the field of their cultural activities.