When you take a stroll through a museum, the best parts of its collection are not always on display.

“You’re only seeing a tiny selection from the thousands of artefacts that are actually there,” says Eftychia Zachariou, curator at the Department of Antiquities in Cyprus, who leads a team of archaeologists, conservators, museologists and technical staff. “The most interesting part of a collection is often what’s in storage.”

The methods for how a museum stores, handles, studies and manages its works underpin the preservation of the whole collection. Collection management is a complex job, but it is the unsung hero behind any exhibition. It involves the registration, study, preservation, display and storage of all artefacts. Making artefacts accessible and easy to retrieve is as important as any other work in a museum.

The Cyprus Museum in Nicosia is home to hundreds of thousands of artefacts found on the island, from the Palaeolithic period to the 19^th century. The main exhibition displays over 4 000 antiquities, including pottery, jewellery, sculptures, coins and copper objects. Thousands more antiquities are kept in the storerooms. The museum building dates to the early 20^th century, when Cyprus was still a British colony. The current museum is not equipped to hold its growing collection.

To properly display the long history of Cyprus, attract locals and tourists, and support research and education, the Cyprus government launched an international architectural bidding competition to build the New Cyprus Museum.

The new museum is set to be the biggest cultural project in the country. Once finished, it will exhibit around 6 500 artefacts and offer improved storage for thousands of antiquities. The facility will have new spaces for periodic exhibitions, educational programmes, conservation labs, offices, a cafeteria, and an art shop. It will include digital and hands-on exhibits, interactive features and illustrative displays. Visitors will enjoy a more immersive and educational experience. Construction started in 2023 and the doors are expected to open in January 2028. The EIB is considering a loan to support the project.

The new museum will keep all its collections under one roof, which will help staff digitalise the artefacts and give more immediate access to the pieces, opening up new avenues for sharing this wealth of history.

To build better storerooms, many factors have been taken into account, from pest control to humidity and temperature levels, to built-in furniture and handling equipment, right down to chemical reactions that can occur on the shelves that hold the antiquities.

“A good collection management policy is instrumental in developing a modern museum,” Zachariou says. “It is really important to have the right expertise to navigate this highly specialised technical area. That is why the help of the advisory experts provided by the EIB was so beneficial.”

EIB Advisory hired expert consultants to help Cyprus’ Department of Antiquities plan the layout of the storerooms and identify the correct furniture and equipment. This will also make the move into the new museum go more smoothly. Experts in museum storage were brought in to provide insight and outline best practices. The new storerooms will have modern technologies that allow staff to set and monitor temperature and humidity levels for each object. Fragile pieces like glass and metal objects will be stored in special drawers and containers, while bigger pieces like statues or architectural items in marble or limestone will be stored in ways that allow easy access, appropriate for their size.

The experts visited the existing museum and studied how pieces were catalogued, registered and labelled. After a few months, they proposed an improved approach to archiving that will greatly accelerate the museum’s work to digitalise its collection.

“The aim is to have optimal storage conditions and plan future exhibits with greater ease,” Zachariou says.