The First Museum in the Baltics That Cannot Be Seen Will Open — “Museum in the Dark”

An unusual interactive exhibition “Museum in the Dark” will open in Riga at 1A Ķengaraga Street. According to the project’s author, Maksims Mihejevs, this is the first interactive museum in the Baltics where, in the dark, visitors will have the opportunity to move beyond their usual perception of the world.

M. Mihejevs said that the project “Museum in the Dark” was created to dispel stereotypes about blind people and promote the development of tolerance.

Accompanied by a blind guide, visitors will be able to explore objects in the dark using four of the human senses. Each museum hall is dedicated to different senses, allowing visitors to better understand the essence of hearing, touch, smell, and taste. The project’s target audience is active people aged 18 to 35, as well as university students, school pupils, and tourists. Various programs designed to build group cohesion and special training sessions for corporate clients are planned.

Guests will have access to both individual and group tours, various tours for children, students, and adults, as well as master classes and tastings.

The idea of creating the museum “Museum in the Dark” arose when Maksims travelled to Moscow in 2016 to support our team at the World Ice Hockey Championship. There, he happened to visit a shopping centre entirely by chance, where an exhibition in the dark was taking place at the time. Back then, his understanding of the daily lives of blind people was rather vague and, as he himself admits, full of stereotypes. After visiting the exhibition, Maksims learned that there are people in many different professions among those with visual impairments, with a variety of hobbies. There are blind mountaineers, cyclists, sailors, lawyers, photographers, and even pilots.

As M. Mihejevs says: “I wanted to create a similar project in Latvia so that Latvia’s residents and visitors to Riga would have the opportunity to take an exciting journey into the world of their own feelings and sensations, as well as become convinced that people with disabilities actually need more time to learn new things while retaining a positive attitude, a desire to develop, and an enjoyment of life.”

For more information, please contact IW Board Chair M. Mihejevs by telephone at +371 26678662 or email your questions to info@muzejstumsa.lv

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Museum in the Dark