Dear ICMAH members, museum professionals, and friends,

ICMAH being inclusive of the largest theme in museums will try to gather this highly few discussed subject all around the world and open a way of communicating about sports in the history and archaeology museums and collections. Our aim is to establish a network between museums which have sports heritage collections and which are directly or indirectly related with sports theme. We also want to make in evidence all sports, sportive activities via collections and social practices and to take attention on this subject. For this purpose since 2017, ICMAH has a “working group” on sports museums and sports heritage.

Since time, ICMAH organized 4 workshops. The first one was on April 21, 2017 in the National Sport Museum, Nice, France. The second one was on October, 2017 in Baku, Azerbaijan and the third was on October 2018, in the Beşiktaş Club Museum, in Istanbul, Turkey. The last was an online program due to pandemic on December, 2020 in collaboration with ICOM Colombia. During 2021, our working group on sports museums will continue to organize workshops specific to the subject. The programs and reports of these workshops are available on ICMAH web site.

March 2020; everything stops !

Our World. This was only the beginning. At the same time, when the matches and sport events are postponed or are held behind closed doors and launched like a Formula 1 in a mad race where no one could find the brake pedal. This gigantic machine was suddenly stopped, net… All administrations, institutions, cultural structures, museums have adapted their work to the situation differently; telework, in distanced presence, video meetings, audio meetings … This showed and still shows the adaptability despite the uncertainty and fragility of the convictions including loneliness, isolation, solidarity. The health situation is worrying and very changing; there is unfortunately any visibility for the future. Yet COVID 19 has also changed the cultural practices.

This crisis was also an opportunity to develop new skills, new definitions. Standards are changed, the space and time perceptions too. New and numerous protocols have been established. Many devices have been designed to ensure that museums remain a safe place, both for visitors and staff, but also for them to stay in virtual contact with their audiences via World Wide Web and digital networks. Closed to the public, exhibitions have been cancelled or postponed, admissions have decreased, and many professional services have been weak.

• What about the collection of objects and oral testimony?
• How have museums tried to keep in touch with their audiences?
• How did they reinvent themselves? So many questions that this round table will try to answer!

In this regard, ICMAH is pleased to invite you to our zoom webinar in English, French and Spanish(simultaneous translation is available) and

Here is the Zoom meeting information:

When: April 22, 2021 – 2 PM, (Paris +1 GTM)

Topic: ICMAH – Sports and Museums – 5th Workshop

Program: The Workshop program.

If you care to join us, we kindly ask you to inscribe to the event by writing us an email to icmahsecretary@gmail.com.

Best regards,

The ICMAH Board