Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche in Faenza

www.micfaenza.org

The MIC Foundation is a specialized museum, completely devoted to ceramics. A unique experience in the world of museumsIt was founded in 1908 with the purpose to collect, preserve and communicate the ceramic heritage of the area.

The MIC – Foundation represents a centre for ceramic culture. It includes several departments: a specialized library - a school laboratory – a

restoration departments – an historical archives - a photographic laboratory

The collections show items from all over the world, many pieces belong to very ancient ages like the ceramics from Eastern collection and items from Pre-historical Age, there is an interesting Pre-Columbian collection and an impressive modern and contemporary collection

Visitors can admire pieces by Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Leger, Fontana, Burri and other great masters included Italian and international designers.

The new section devoted to 20th century ceramics includes marble and bronze sculptures and pictures

It preserves about 60.000 ceramic works, about 10.000 of them are exhibited in the wide exhibition area of about 12.000 squared metres.

School department

The Giocare con l’arte (Playing with Art) Workshop was established by the artist designer Bruno Munari in 1979.

It has been source of interest and inspiration of several international museums

It plays an important educational role

for students, teachers, visitors:

● game approach working with the clay in the laboratory

● lessons in the exhibition halls

- Diffusion of the “know-how”

- Mailing list to promote the activities

- Blog communication

The Restoration Department offers services to different users:

- restorations

- refreshing courses,

- managing of on-line archives of ceramics

- managing of a wide storage departments

Restoration deparment

The technicians are responsible for preserving the pieces restoring works for the MIC, for other museums and for privates

Possibility to implement the services through the collaboration with other museums, public institution and universities

A review “Faenza”

Published since 1913 without interruption.

It is dedicated to the historical, scientific and didactic study of ceramic art. It is sent to a great number of subscribers, museums, libraries and cultural institutions in Italy and abroad

The International relations

Some examples of institutions that have frequent and deep relation with the MIC

Porcelain Museum in SELB

Victorian and Albert Museum in London

Ashmolean Museum in Oxford

Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg

Petit Palais in Paris

Musée National de Porcelain Adrien Dubouché in LIMOGES

Ceramic Museum in Stoke on Trent

Museo Nacional De Ceramica Gonzalez Marti in Valencia

Victorian and Albert Museum in London

Design Museum in Helsinki

Porcellain Museum in Herend

Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagabria

Museum of Applied arts in Belgrade

National Museum of Montenegro

National Museum of Azulejo in Lisbon

National Museum of Slovenia in Lubiana …………………..and many others

creating an active role of the MIC in the world of ceramics

promoting the activities and the cultural projects

sharing managing experiences

Aims of the communication

web-site each year about 60.00 contacts

newsletter 1.200 contacts

e-mail address 10.000 contacts

The web-site

The Institute for the preservation of the Cultural Heritage, Istituto Beni Culturali dell’Emilia Romagna, gave the MIC the status of Quality Museum. It allows the Museum a wide diffusion inside the network of high quality museum for the managing and the services to the public.

Consideration about the model

The model leads to analyze the present situation inside the museum concerning the communication with a critical attitude

Strength of the MIC:

-long history of relation

-Several active department

- a great ceramic patrimony, unique in the world

Weakness of the MIC:

- Lack of a specific strategy

-Virtual strategies for didactic purposes (e-learning)

-Continuative relations with media

-Contact with tour operators and tourists