The seventh edition of the Noche de Museos takes place on Friday, November 13, bringing together 80 museums and cultural venues across more than 14 localities, with an evening programme of exhibitions, music, dance, immersive experiences and free activities.
BOGOTÁ – The Colombian capital will turn into an expansive cultural stage on Friday, November 13, when the seventh edition of the Noche de Museos (Night of Museums) opens the doors of 80 museums and cultural spaces across more than 14 localities. From historic collections and colonial architecture to contemporary art, live music and experimental performances, the annual event invites residents and visitors to rediscover the capital through its cultural heritage.
Among the participating institutions are five museums administered by Colombia’s Ministry of Culture: the Museo Nacional de Colombia, Museo Colonial, Museo Santa Clara, Casa Museo Quinta de Bolívar and Museo de la Independencia Casa del Florero. Each will offer a distinct programme, reflecting the diversity of the country’s artistic traditions and the changing ways in which museums engage with their audiences.
The initiative seeks to make cultural heritage more accessible, presenting museums not simply as repositories of historical objects but as living spaces for participation, education and artistic exchange.
At the Museo Nacional de Colombia, located on Carrera Séptima, the programme begins at 1 p.m. with a celebration of Colombian sounds and dance, organised in collaboration with Idartes’ Casona de la Danza. One of the afternoon’s most inclusive activities will be the Franja de la Calma, scheduled from 2.30 p.m. to 4 p.m. This sensory experience is designed for visitors with and without disabilities, as well as their caregivers, who may benefit from a quieter environment in which to explore the museum. Advance registration is required, subject to capacity.
From 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., visitors can explore the museum’s galleries while enjoying performances by DJ Gabriela Morgan and Oikal Dance Studio. The evening will also provide an opportunity to experience five recently inaugurated immersive rooms, which explore lesser-known stories of Colombia through sound, audiovisual installations and tactile experiences. Their contemporary formats offer an alternative way of encountering the country’s history.
At the Museo Colonial, on Carrera Sexta, music and artistic experimentation take centre stage. The highlight is Resonancias de la India y otros ecos del mundo, a performance by Ensamble Tarabaji from 5.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. The ensemble brings together musical traditions from India and other cultures through a contemporary approach to sound and exploration.
The programme also includes an origami workshop led by visual artist Maira Montenegro, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., followed by Asalto bailable, a dance presentation by Barra de Tango en Movimiento. Introductory visits and a guided tour exploring the opening of the historic door of the Church of San Ignacio will also be available throughout the afternoon and evening.
A more reflective perspective on the human experience awaits at the Museo Santa Clara, where the temporary exhibition Huellas. Evidencia de valor y vida by Colombian-American artist Bernardo Vallarino will be inaugurated at 5 p.m. The exhibition establishes a dialogue between the museum’s history and the experiences of people forced to leave their homes and begin again elsewhere.
Through themes of migration, memory and new beginnings, the exhibition invites visitors to consider the personal histories that often remain behind the broader narratives of displacement. The museum will offer free introductory visits between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Further east, the Casa Museo Quinta de Bolívar will combine history, storytelling and Latin American music. Open from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., the former residence associated with Simón Bolívar will host three special activities. At 3 p.m., El jardín del abuelo: un viaje por la Quinta, an immersive radio experience created with Radio en Acción, will explore the site’s natural heritage through sound, imagination and memory. At 5 p.m., historical characters will return to the house and gardens in a theatrical experience titled ¡La Quinta cobra vida!, bringing the past into the present through period costumes and storytelling.
The evening concludes at 7.30 p.m. with Abya-Yala, a guitar quartet performing contemporary Latin American folk music, drawing on traditions from Colombia, Cuba, Brazil and Argentina.
At the Museo de la Independencia Casa del Florero, the programme turns towards Bogotá’s popular traditions and the country’s musical diversity. At 3 p.m., the Festival de la chicha y la dicha en el museo celebrates chicha as part of the capital’s living heritage, drawing inspiration from the longstanding Festival de la Chicha, la Vida y la Dicha in the traditional neighbourhood of La Perseverancia.
At 6.30 p.m., Versos para una planta combines visual arts and live artisanal creation to explore the coca plant, its biological cycles and its wider ecological context. The programme concludes at 7.30 p.m. with a vinyl set by Doom Descarga, whose collection of Colombian rhythms travels musically from Barranquilla to Mocoa, reflecting nearly a decade of collecting and exploring the country’s regional sounds.
With five national museums offering free admission and a programme extending from the early afternoon into the evening, the seventh Noche de Museos provides an opportunity to experience Bogotá’s cultural institutions in a different light. More importantly, it reinforces the idea that museums are not static monuments to the past, but places where history and creativity continue to shape Colombia’s cultural vibrant identity.
