THE NEW ASPECT OF THE MUNICIPAL MUSEUM IN ŻORY. HISTORY AND COLLECTION

Two attempts were made to found theMuseum in Żory, each time when the anniversary of thetown’s founding was being celebrated. The MunicipalCultural Centre then organised exhibitions devoted to thetown’s history. Since the interest in celebrations droppedoff once they were finished, the museum was neverfounded. In 1999 the concept was changed, and Africanculture started to predominate. The interest in such anexhibition was huge, and thus the Municipal Museumwas founded in December 2000. It has two branches, onedevoted to the history and culture of the region, and onedevoted to non-European cultures. At the beginning, museumprofessionals were aware of the fact that the museum’sexistence depended on social acceptance. It wasdecided to focus on animation activities, which effectivelyattracted a lot of visitors. At the same time, both the regionaland West African collections were created. Sincethe museum was founded quite recently, the majority ofthe collection is made up of objects from the 2nd halfof the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century.Having its own premises was a serious problem forthe museum. After many years of struggle, an agreementwas concluded with the Katowice Special Economic Zone(KSSE) to add a wing to the historical Haering villa from1908 which it owned. In autumn 2014 the constructionwork finished and the museum gained its own premises.The museum presents two permanent exhibitions:"Our identity" and "The Polish way of learning about theworld". The former presents the history and culture ofthe region and town, from their beginnings until today.The latter is devoted to research carried out by Polishscientists in various parts of the globe. The museum acquiresobjects mainly through its own field work, as wellas from collections gathered by Polish scientists duringtheir research. Purchasing historical and expensive objectsat antique shops and markets is rare