Agreement for the development of long term programmes between the State Hermitage Museum
(St. Petersburg, Russia) and the Museum of Art History (Vienna, Austria)

On 15 June 2008, Mikhail Piotrovsky, the Director of the State Hermitage Museum, and Dr. Wilfried Seipel, Director of the Museum of Art History in Vienna, Austria signed an agreement for the development of long term programmes between the two organisations.

The agreement envisages the planning of long term exhibit exchanges; joint exhibitions in museums party to the agreement and also other museums; international projects using the collections of those party to the agreement, and exchanges of experience for running exhibitions and for their organizational structure. It also assumes that there will be joint work carried out for publishing books and catalogues, and devising museum souvenirs. The parties have agreed to develop special educational programmes which will become an important part of the cultural exchanges between St. Petersburg and Vienna.

The agreement enables regular exchanges for staff members for scientific research purposes. The agreement also stipulates the preparation of special programmes granting reciprocal rights to members of the Friends societies of the two organizations, the State Hermitage Museum and Museum of Art History in Vienna

The parties to the agreement intend to carry out continual and close coordination within their resources, including their activities involving society, including the joint preparation of information releases.

According to the opinion of the Director of the State Hermitage Museum, Mikhail Piotrovsky, "the signing of the agreement is an effective step towards developing worldwide museum collections for education on a global scale".

Signing ceremony of the agreement