It is a non-governmental institution, with legal personality, with headquarters in the city of Bucharest, Șos Kiseleff no. 30 – the multifunctional building, sector 1, established on the basis of the free consent of 23 museums with an ethnographic profile and outdoor exhibition in the country and some natural persons, specialists in the field.
The purpose of the Association is twofold - cultural and professional: to support, valorize, promote and protect the activity and heritage of open-air museums in Romania, as well as the professional promotion of specialists who carry out their research activities within the member museums.
It is an institution affiliated to AEOM - a renowned organization in the promotion and preservation of tangible and intangible heritage whose main purpose and activity is also related to the promotion of the 19 open-air museums in Romania.
It was established in 1993 and until 2008 it was based in Sibiu. From June 2008, the Association moved its headquarters to Bucharest in the administrative space of the National Museum of Dimitrie Gusti Village.
In 2021, the Statute of the Association was registered at the Bucharest District 1 Court with headquarters in Șos. Kiseleff, no. 28-30, sector 1, Bucharest with the following composition:
board:
President: university professor Dr. Paula Popoiu, Manager
National Museum of the "Dimitrie Gusti" Village
Vice-president: Tudor Sălăgean, researcher, general manager
Museum of Ethnography of Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca
Vice-president: Mirela Iancu, Marketing Director
Museum of Traditional Popular Civilization "ASTRA"
Ordinary member: Vasile Emanuel Costoiu
National Museum of the "Dimitrie Gusti" Village
Treasurer: Ec. Virginia Goean
Economic Director - National Museum of the "Dimitrie Gusti" Village
Secretary: Iuliana Balaci, Director of Communication, Museum Education
National Museum of the "Dimitrie Gusti" Village
States
- NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE VILLAGE "DIMITRIE GUSTI" - BUCHAREST
- MUSEUM OF TRANSYLVANIA CIVILIZATION "ASTRA" - SIBIU
- ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM OF TRANSYLVANIA - CLUJ-NAPOCA
- MUSEUM OF VITICULTURE AND FRUIT GROWING - GOLEȘTI - ARGEȘ
- THE BÁNĂŢEAN VILLAGE MUSEUM – TIMISOARA
- ETHNOGRAPHY AND POPULAR ART MUSEUM IN TULCEA – SECTION WITHIN THE “GAVRILĂ SIMION” ECO-MUSEUM RESEARCH INSTITUTE – TULCEA
- MARAMUREȘ COUNTY MUSEUM OF ETHNOGRAPHY AND POPULAR ART – BAIA MARE
- MARAMURESAN MUSEUM – SIGHETU MARMAțIEI
- MUSEUM OF THE COUNTRY OF OASULUI - SATU MARE
- BUCOVINA MUSEUM (BUCOVINA MUSEUM COMPLEX) – SUCEAVA
- THE "ART OF WOOD" MUSEUM - CAMPULUNG MOLDOVANESC
- VRANCEI MUSEUM – VRANCEA
- BRAN NATIONAL MUSEUM – BRAN
- REGHIN "ANTON BADEA" ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM - REGHIN
- SEXUIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM – SAINT GEORGE
- THE SEKIUS MUSEUM OF CIUC - WEDNESDAY CIUC
- HASZMANN PAL MUSEUM – CERNAT, COVASNA (branch of the SEXUIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM IN ST. GEORGE)
- VâLCEAN VILLAGE MUSEUM – BUJORENI, section of the “AUREL SACERDOŢEAN” COUNTY MUSEUM – VâLCEA
- MĂLDĂRESTI MUSEUM COMPLEX, section of the "AURELIAN SACERDOȢEANU" COUNTY MUSEUM - VâLCEA
- MUSEUM OF POPULAR ARCHITECTURE IN GORJ - CURTIțOARA section of the GORJ COUNTY MUSEUM "ALEXANDRU STEFULESCU" - FAIR FRIDAY
- NATIONAL TECHNICAL MUSEUM "PROF. Eng. DIMITRIE LEONIDA"
- NATIONAL MUSEUM COMPLEX "MOLDOVA" - IAțI
- COTROCENI NATIONAL MUSEUM
purposes
- promotionamong the Romanians of a network of national and local museums with ethnographic specificity;
- promotionamong European museums of a network of local and national open-air museums;
- promotionon all levels of professional dialogue and the exchange of scientific and methodological experience, both nationally and internationally;
- supporton a permanent basis of the professional qualification effort of young staff both in the country and abroad;
- organization and contributionat conferences at national and international level with themes related to the fields of interest of museums: ethnographic research, conservation, restoration, promotion of actions with the public, actions of museum pedagogy;
- consultationspecialists in the field depending on the legislative needs and the specifics of the problems faced by the museums;
- initiating, requesting, receiving and managing grants, sponsorships and donations in support of running the activity or supporting members;
- mediationthe exchange of visitsbetween museum specialists in the country and abroad, participation in international scientific events;
- recoverythe exchange of national experience in international specialized publishing;
- analyzing projects for the establishment of new museums- institutional members of the Association, or on request, and of other member institutions, in the counties (or areas) whose potential scientific and financial heritage allow the materialization of such intentions and the direct support of the effort of the respective collectives, through methodological support and scientific assistance and research necessary for carrying out the activity;