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POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews Proclaimed Winner of the European Museum of the Year Award

POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews Proclaimed Winner of the European Museum of the Year Award

San Sebastian, Spain – The POLIN: Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland, has been proclaimed winner of the 2016 European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA), which is granted annually by the European Museum Forum (EMF). The EMYA was founded in 1977 under the auspices of the Council of Europe, with the aim of distinguishing the excellence on the European museum scene and recognizing an institution that contributes “most directly to attracting audiences and satisfying its visitors with unique atmosphere, imaginative interpretation and presentation, a creative approach to education and social responsibility.”

When sharing the wonderful news, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, the Advisor to the Director and the Chief Curator of Core Exhibition at the POLIN Museum said that this award “recognizes the POLIN Museum as a whole – its brilliant architecture, compelling core exhibition, its exceptional educational, cultural, and artistic programs, its impact, and the quality that it brings to everything that it does.”

She stressed that the creation of the Museum was the result of a collaborative work of many organizations and institutions, including the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland, which initiated the project in 1993 and joined the City of Warsaw and Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in 2005 to bring the project into fruition; the Jewish Historical Institute, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Yad Vashem, National Library of Israel and many others. She also expressed her appreciation to numerous individuals – directors, managers, academic and curatorial team, the designers, translators and editors, as well as many specialists who provided research and advice. Moreover, she expressed her gratitude to numerous donors, whose financial support was instrumental in the project.

The Jan Karski Educational Foundation is proud to have several of the POLIN Museum’s creators and sponsors on its team: Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka, now President of Fundacja Edukacyjna Jana Karskiego, the JKEF’s Warsaw-based sister organization, was the POLIN Museum’s Director of Development in 2000-2005; Ewa Wierzyńska, longtime member of the JKEF’s Board of Directors, served as the Museum’s Deputy Director; Chairman of the JKEF Board, Andrzej Rojek, is one of its benefactors.

For further information, please see EMF’s announcement about the award.

 (Photo of the POLIN Museum: mamik/fotopolska.eu https://commons.wikimedia.org)