I ask you to participate in an important international cultural awareness campaign. This campaign is a reaction to the acute crisis of major cultural institutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina. On October 4, 2012, after 124 years of its existence, the country's Regional Museum [Zemaljski Muzej] closed down due to the government's failure to secure legal status and adequate funding. Your solidarity is needed!
Six more state-level institutions, such as the National Art Gallery [Umjetnička Galerija BH] and the National and University Library [Nacionalna i Univerzitetska Biblioteka BH] are also about to become permanently inaccessible. Looting and destruction of precious cultural artifacts and heritage are at stake.
Why am I doing this? I am one of the founding members of the platform CULTURESHUTDOWN, an international initiative connecting scholars, artists and cultural producers responding to this crisis. Cultural insititons in Bosnia-Herzegovina are keepers of the unique historical and cultural treasures, evidence of coexsistence in the region. Preserving them is crucial for securing a sustainable peace. Artifacts kept in these institutions are an important component of the world's cultural heritage. Preserving them is a matter of global relevance.
I call on you and other museums across the globe to demonstrate solidarity by symbolically "erasing" one precious artwork or artifact inaccessible for one day. How? On March 4, 2013, I ask you to place a yellow barrier tape across the surface of the chosen object (I will provide this custom-printed non-adhesive tape). The date chosen for this Day of Museum Solidarity marks the six month anniversary of the Zemaljski Muzej's closure.
Please follow the following directions (deatils will be provided upon RSVP):1. RSVP + PROVIDE YOUR ADDRESS2. "CROSS OUT" THE ARTIFACT WITH THE PROVIDED TAPE3. SEND ME A PICTURE4. SPREAD THE WORD
  
This crisis in Bosnia-Herzegovina requires political, economic, and institutional solutions. By participating in this Day of Museum Solidarity, you will make an important and much needed contribution to resolving this crisis. In solidarity,Dr. Azra AksamijaMIT Assistant Professor, Co-Founder of CULTURESHITDOWN.net