This post is also available in: polski
Awards for the Sybir Memorial Museum and its contribution to the cultural life of the city are a unique affair. Probably no city institution has ever been so successful before. Meanwhile, the response ‘in the city’ seems to have been small. We Białystok residents often admire what our neighbours have to offer; we travel, visit, compare and criticise. And why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye and not the beam in your own?’ 😉 In view of the upcoming big event, the presentation of the Council of Europe Museum Awards in Bialystok, I was tempted to make a little summary.
The author of the blog is a certified guide at the Sybir Memorial Museum
– call: 504 868 400 – Anna Kraśnicka
Be sure to take a look at our review of this museum – HERE
A sad museum? History is worth and must be learned
I have been working with the Sybir Memorial Museum as a certified external guide since its inception. I recommend a visit to this museum to all my tourists: whether groups or individual visitors. I have guided at Węglowa Street dozens of times and I have witnessed the reactions to the exhibition, whether from Sybiraks, middle-aged people or teenagers. I have never encountered a negative reaction! On the contrary, most viewers are moved, feel a fuller understanding of Polish history and many are enormously moved. The only objection that annoys me immensely, by the way, is the travel agents’ claim that … this is a sad museum. Excuse me – but is Polin or the Warsaw Rising Museum cheerful? Or is the Second World War Museum optimistic? I have the impression that the agencies would like to build the image of Podlasie only through the prism of colourful Orthodox churches, mallows in gardens and exemplary multiculturalism. Alas! We also had wars, deportations, the Holocaust, bombings, refugee time…. after all, we are part of Poland.
In 2024 I had the opportunity to show a very unusual guest, namely WINI – youtuber and influencer. See what it looked like and … welcome!
Museum-related activities
In addition to operating the huge facility, the team employed there offers a whole range of events to those interested every year. Personally, I am very impressed by the museum’s publishing activities. Books, periodicals, albums – all published coherently and with great care. In their shop you can find some good promotions. I already have a separate shelf at home dedicated to this subject. On the occasion of new publications, but not only, meetings with Sybiraks, authors or travellers are organised. The museum, of course, takes part in the Night of Museums, offers workshops and museum lessons and, recently, additional temporary exhibitions.
There is growing interest in Siberian-related events:
- Peleton of Remembrance, which in 2025 will already connect 5 countries – Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and Estonia.
- The Siberian Remembrance Run – organised in cooperation with the Białystok Run Foundation, which is famous for its excellent organisation of such events.
- Siberian Ambient Salon – a combination of history and … electronic music created by the Up to Date Festival team.
- Friend of the Siberian Memorial Museum statues – have been presented since 2018. They honour people who have shown special commitment to the museum.
Awards for the Sybir Memorial Museum
This long list of events and work done to preserve the memory of Polish Siberia is not, after all, complete. After all, I am not the archivist of this institution, but bearing in mind that the museum opened only three years ago (17.IX.2021), I admire the variety of proposals and the efficiency of the team from Węglowa Street. 
1. As it turns out, these efforts and research work were also quickly appreciated by professional bodies and in 2022 they joined the ‘Common Memory’ international cooperation network of Central and Eastern European museums initiated by the Sybir Memorial Museum these are: Vabam Occupation and Freedom Museum, Estonia, Latvian Occupation Museum, Lithuanian Genocide and Resistance Research Centre, National Holodomor-Ludocide Museum, Ukraine, Museum of Victims of Deportation and Political Repression, Moldova).
2. In the second half of 2023, the news cooled that, behold, the Museum Council of Europe had awarded the title of the best museum of 2024 to our Sybir Memorial Museum! Disbelief and emotion. I think that in one sentence the director of the Museum, Professor Wojciech Śleszyński, expressed what we all felt:
When we embarked on the construction of the Museum, we knew that an extraordinary work was being created. Today, not in Paris, London or Venice, but in Bialystok, we have the best museum in Europe. This is the oldest and most prestigious museum award.
3. In 2024, Sybir Memorial Museum was honoured by the European Museum Academy. The institution was nominated in the category of the Luigi Micheletti Prize and received a special award for its activities. The award was justified as follows:
‘The Siberian Memorial Museum convincingly conveys the story of the deportations and related problems of the local community. It uses history to engage visitors, students and volunteers at the museum. Interesting parts of the narrative are offered through the website and an impressive series of publications. The theme covers a wider European area, executed with great style and total commitment from the director and staff, reinforcing the growing importance of history.’
4. Just a few days later came the news that the Sybir Memorial Museum was among the 10 best tourism products of 2024 in Poland. The competition ‘Best Tourist Product – PTO Certificate 2024’ was organised for the 21st time by the Polish Tourist Organisation. Its aim is to honour the most attractive and innovative tourism products in our country. We’ve got it!
Awards for the Sybir Memorial Museum – “The cherry on top”
All these awards for the Sybir Memorial Museum are no coincidence. We have a reason to be proud, and we can use this recognition to promote the entire region. A fantastic opportunity is on the horizon.
The annual EMYA 2025 conference and award ceremony will take place in Białystok from May 21 to 25, 2025. The Sybir Memorial Museum, itself a recipient of this prestigious honor, will showcase its achievements to distinguished guests from across Europe.
On the event’s website, we read:
The European Museum of the Year Award and the series of related awards are given out each year at the annual conference and award ceremony.
The rigorous judging process involving visits to up to 60 museums culminates in an annual conference with the participation of 250 – 300 leading museum professionals, at which the candidates present their museums, the winners are announced, and the underlying values and innovative ideas in the European museum field are discussed, renewed and reinterpreted.
With EMYA’s accumulated over 40 years of traditions and insights into the societal and community needs, which drive, create, develop and sustain museums as crucial civic spaces for the exploration of Europe’s heritage, the conference serves as a continuous benchmark for innovation and best practices for the sector.
We congratulate the museum team and wish them many more great ideas and the strength to bring them to life!
Leave a Reply