Fourteen of the exhibitions will be staged in the rooms of Vilamuseu whilst the other 4 will be in other locations. All the exhibitions in the Museum follow the principles of universal design making them accessible by and understandable to everyone.
The painting works, Memorial Jaime Morales, are presently exhibited and will be until 4th March. The exhibition ‘Coses de la Mar’, organised with Villajoyosa Club Náutico at their premises has an interesting collection of navigational and communication instruments, naval construction and maritime rescue items from the 19th and 20th centuries.
In March we will start a big biannual exhibition that will throw light on prominent pieces from the Vilamuseu archaeological collection, some of which have not been previously shown. “Esclavxs de la Belleza” is the title of our show about dress and personal adornment in ancient times, from the Phoenicians to the Romans of Allon. It will be an exhibition with a lot of sensory content, interactive and educational with a marked gender character.
From April to June there will be a double exhibition which is very important for Vilamuseu: “El Hospital Sueco-Noruego. De Alcoy a la Vila (The Swedish/Norwegian Hospital. From Alcoy to la Vila). In 1938, after the bombing of Alcoy, a part of the military hospital financed by Sweden and Norway was transferred to the buildings that today are occupied by Vilamuseu and the Tourist Office. One part will be dedicated to the graphic memory of the hospital in Alcoy and la Vila and the other part will gather together the work of artist Antoni Miró who was based in the hospital. This exhibition will have international collaboration.
From June to September Vilamuseu will receive “Luz de Roma” (Light of Rome); a show that sheds light on daily life in the Roman times. It is being lent by Marq Museum, Alicante, enriched with pieces from the Vilamuseu collection. From October 2018 until 6th January 2019 the Museum will have the privilege of accommodating the international exhibition “El Mundo Fluye” (The Flowing World). It is two views of the same situation (two sides of the same coin). It is formed by high level works that have been in the Bienal de Arte Contemporáneo Fundación ONCE, created by artists with some kind of disability (physical, sensory, intellectual or mental) and that without regard for the disability, they use it as an inspiration.
In addition, from December, the House Museum, la Barbera dels Aragonés will renew its offerings with a thematic exhibition about brides’ old trousseaus, based around the important clothes and personal adornment collection that Vilamuseu has preserved from the 19th and the start of the 20th centuries.
Coming to summer we will also include two exhibitions about the natural heritage of Marina Baixa, firstly, “Fóssils de la Marina Baixa” organised by geologist Cinto Vaello; secondly “Les petxines de les nostres platges” (The shells of our beaches) organised by biologist Agustí Galiana.
As usual, the Museum will have three seasonal pieces. Presently we have, for autumn 2017/winter 2018, La máscara fenicia del Demonio (the Phoenician Demon Mask); for spring/summer, April to September, La Campaneta (The Bell) (the old 18th century bell from Ermita de S. Isidro with interesting pieces from the temple); and for autumn 2018 to spring 2019, starting in October we have El simpulum (ladle) de Poble Nou, a Roman wine ritual ladle that arrived with the troops stationed in la Vila during the Sertorianas Wars (1st century BC).
The exhibition “Tresors de la Vila Joiosa” will continue in Vilamuseu but will be expanded and improved with new tactile additions (such as 3D impressions of several pieces and more information more text and videos with Spanish sign language). There will be new key pieces from the archaeological collection, considered one of the more important in the Valencian Community (witness the inscription of the deceased who was buried in Sant Josep’s Roman Tower.
In 2019 it will be replaced by “Key Vilamuseu Pieces” that will display the more important pieces from its collection. It will be a permanent exhibition but will leave more room for temporary exhibitions. The object is to move more of the collection from the stores, to vary the offerings and to seize the maximum possibilities offered by the principal Vilamuseu room.
Outside of the Municipal museums, a small permanent exhibition will be inaugurated in the Club Náutico, Villajoyosa, about the wreck, Bou Ferrer, with some pieces from its cargo. In the Vilamuseu room at the Alicante University Museum (MUA) a selection of different pieces will be offered throughout the year; these will be from the archaeological and ethnographical collection of Vilamuseu. It will be refreshed from time to time.
In the Vilamuseu room of MUA, until March, Grafit de Vapor (Steamboat) 1875 will be exhibited; it comes from graffiti discovered in houses in the old town. The spring/summer piece, April to September will be La máscara fenícia del Demonio and from October La Campaneta (18th century) – see earlier.
Vilamuseu offers cards from 20€, that allow accompanied access for another person as many times as you like during the year and will remain free for many dates such as Sundays and certain other dates enabling, therefore, access to high level culture of great variety at an economical price.
This season, Vilamuseu will continue to offer a wide programme of guided visits and will to offering animated and theatrical visits of which it has been the pioneer in the Province since 2005. Also it will continue to offer spontaneous historical recreational visits in collaboration with the Asociación Cultural Hispania Romana, organised activities and workshops for children (Vilakids) and organise events, conferences, book presentations, amongst others throughout the year.