Started by London blogger Mar Dixon, the Museum Selfie Day trend has gone worldwide and spawned a plethora of creative posts on social media ever since. Museums, archaic by nature, have always moved slowly to adopt new rules. Their “no photography” signs were implemented to discourage flash pictures, which degrade the quality of conserved works. But in today’s world of high-sensitivity smartphone cameras, many more museums are relaxing their rules on photography in an effort to encourage more engagement with the public. Museum Selfie Day on January 21 is the perfect opportunity for people to get creative.
Museums are a great way to learn about history and art and are lots of fun for friends and families everywhere. However, sometimes when museums don’t allow photographs, it can be difficult to enjoy remembering the times you had together. However, one day helps solve that situation, and that is Museum Selfie Day. It’s a day about museums and selfies combined into a great cultural experience, so let’s check it out!
History of Museum Selfie Day
Museum Selfie Day combines the ancient history of the world with the funny modern trend that is taking selfies. This campaign was created in 2015 by Mar Dixon, a project coordinator, and enthusiast of museums. She came up with the idea after visiting several museums with her daughter, according to a CNN article, and thought of the idea as a way to showcase the people in the museums and the memories attached to it. Now, museums worldwide participate in the campaign on Twitter and Instagram, and it has become a part of the cultural phenomenon that os internet culture. Dixon has also created several other projects since then, including Teens in Museums, MuseumCamp, and CultureThemes.
Although she doesn’t have an educational background in museum and art, she’s an advocate for it, so with Museum Selfie Day, it’s one of the recurring campaigns that allow people to be funny and creative with their selfie-taking skills. While most museums don’t allow photos to be taken at all, this day allows people to enjoy their time in the museum and be featured next to famous works of art. While it encourages others to have fun, it also emphasizes the importance of enjoying art, archaeology, science, photography and other forms of art in a museum.
How to Celebrate Museum Selfie Day
It’s easy. When the date comes around, bring in your cameras and start taking selfies with your friends and family. However, some museums may not know about the day, so check in with the front office before heading in to see if cameras are allowed. Get creative with your selfies. Make weird faces. Attach funny captions to them. Maybe even put on some filters. Then post it on whatever media you use and hashtag #MuseumSelfie and let the world see what you came up with. This day is about being happy and having fun and many people take part in it, so why shouldn’t you?