Cristina Riera
Within the framework of the programme of Corporate Social Responsibility of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, on 1st July we held the 8th Edition of the Family gathering at the museum, a summertime festivity, a celebration for workers in which they could come with their family and spend an afternoon full of fun activities in the museum.
The museum with the family
This year the festivity began with a visit to three unique spaces of the building that are not open to the general public and which, therefore, cannot normally be visited: the restoration workshop, the underground galleries and the security control room in which specialists from each of these areas explained what their work consisted of.
In the restoration workshop, various restorers explained the techniques that they apply to various supports (mural painting, wood carving, etc.): we learnt about what they do to make sure that the pieces are insect free, the procedures they use so that the polychrome doesn’t peel off from the works that are in a state of precarious conservation or what they do when they restore a piece that has various layers of polychrome from different historical periods.
By means of the service lift that is used to move the large-sized works (up to 5,000 kilos) we reached the control room, where we were able to see on all the screens the very different spaces of the museum that they control with surveillance cameras. The smallest ones were allowed to move different mobile cameras like the ones located on the ceiling of the Sala Oval which can focus on any point of the large space with great precision, even allowing small details to be observed from many metres away.
In the underground galleries we saw, for example, all the necessary machinery for the functioning of the building’s heating and cooling systems, fundamental for maintaining the temperature and humidity, essential for the good conservation of the artworks, as well as the comfort of the workers and visitors, applying measures for a greater sustainability, both economic and environmental.
Once the visit was over, while the participants headed for the exterior courtyard to continue the party, a jury made up of three workers from the museum and a representative from Vilaplana (the sponsor of the festivity) chose the winners of the Cake Contest rating different aspects: the presentation, the taste and the originality. It was difficult to choose the winner as all the cakes were of a very high standard. All the participants received a prize and, moreover, the winner received a bonus gift courtesy of Vilaplana that consisted of a lunch for 4 people at the Restaurant Òleum.
First prize 
Second prize 
Third prize
From that moment on, the party continued in the open air with an authentic festive spirit. The smallest ones played and jumped in an inflatable castle, while the adults chatted with their workmates and families. We all enjoyed a traditional afternoon snack in which we were able to taste the cakes presented in the contest. It was a good opportunity to put work to one side and to have an enjoyable and relaxed moment of conversation with smiles all round.
The Solidarity Market: another activity within the framework of the CSR
The Family gathering at the museum, a summertime festivity is an example of the different activities that the museum carries out within the framework of CSR and that it aims to hold year after year, but we also carry out other activities such as the Solidarity Market that we will be holding for the third year in a row at the beginning of December. In this case throughout the year the museum’s workers, voluntarily and in a selfless way, bring different objects that they don’t use but are in a good state of conservation and which, therefore, could have a second useful life in somebody else’s hands. We could find books, toys, costume jewellery, kitchen utensils, objects of decoration or accessories such as handkerchiefs, ties or handbags, among others. The prices are very affordable as we want to encourage people to join in. All the money raised goes entirely to an NGO (a different one each year), selected and based on proposals put forward by the museum’s workers.
In the latest edition, 1,209 Euros were collected that go to the NGO Associació Bona Voluntat en Acció (The Goodwill in Action Association) which is dedicated to covering the basic needs of people at risk of social exclusion in Poble Sec (food, products of personal hygiene and household products), to provide training (languages, computer training, ICT and basic trade skills that enable labour insertion), to carry out activities for children and to offer a reception service and the elaboration of individual work plans or labour mediation services.
Related links
Family gathering at the museum, a summertime festivity
Departament de Comunicació
