Design Collection Displays Reassessed
Welcome to ICOM-DESIGN’s (formerly ICOM-ICDAD) international research symposium at the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design!
The Design Collection Displays Reassessed symposium will explore collection displays as sites of knowledge exchange and active engagement. It will interrogate how design objects and interiors are displayed, discussed and interpreted, and for whom.
What does curating these kinds of collection displays represent and mean today? And how might this practice look in the future? What new museological approaches are needed?
We look forward to meeting in person to discuss and debate an ever-changing field – a conversation between scholars and practitioners across borders, institutions and disciplines.
You need a ticket to attend the symposium. Price: 2000 NOK for three days, including lunch and tickets to the National Museum. Registration is closed.
Keynote speakers are Corinna Gardner, Senior Curator, Design and Digital, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Dr Sebastian Hackenschmidt, Curator of Furniture and Woodwork, MAK – Museum für angewandte Kunst, Vienna, Marco Magni, founder and chief architect, and Maria Cristina Rizzello, architect and partner, Guicciardini & Magni Architetti, Florence, and Dr Leena Svinhufvud, Lead Researcher, Architecture & Design Museum, Helsinki; all leading scholars within the field.
The other speakers, all international, will contribute with talks grouped according to the following themes: Approaches to Reinstallations, Perspectives on House Museums, Sustainability and Self-Questioning, Design Mediating Design or Exploring Process and On Specificity and Subject Matter. These presentations are the result of an earlier Open Call for Papers.
- For the symposium and post-symposium schedule, please see here
- For keynote speaker presentations, please see here
- For keynote speaker abstracts, please see here
- For paper abstracts and bios, please see here
- For the concluding remarks presenter’s bio, please see here
- For the convener’s bio, please see here
This symposium is organised by the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in collaboration with the International Council of Museums, ICOM, and the international committee ICOM–DESIGN (formerly ICOM-ICDAD), International Committee for Decorative Arts and Design.
ICOM membership is not a requirement to attend this symposium. - For the symposium schedule, please see below.
- For accommodation information, please see below.
- For info about ICOM-DESIGN, please see below.
- Registration deadline: Friday 24 October 16.00.
- For symposium enquiries, please see below.
Symposium and Post-Symposium Schedule and Tickets:
28 October
- 10.00–11.00 and 15.00-16.00 Registration at conference desk, museum lobby.
Guided Tours: When buying your symposium ticket, please also select one of the following two options:
Tours Option 1 (numbers limited):
Includes guided tours at collection displays conducted by specialist curators at two local museums:
- 9.15 Meet convener Denise Hagströmer (wearing a pink cap) in Solli Plass square at the 30 bus stop (direction: Bygdøy) for bus tickets and departure 9.30 to:
- 10.00 The Norsk Folkemuseum (about life and culture in Norway from the 16th century to the present)
- 11.30 Lunch at the Norsk Folkemuseum
- 12.30 Depart by public transport bus from the Norsk Folkemuseum
- 13.00 The Historical Museum: the Norwegian Viking Age and Heritage exhibitions
- 16.00 Guided tour at the National Museum, conducted by specialist curators: The historical and modern design collection display. Meet in the museum lobby.
Tours Option 2 (numbers limited):
Includes guided tours of collection displays and a temporary exhibition at the National Museum, conducted by specialist curators and architects:
- 11.00 Tour of the historical and modern design collection display. Meet in the museum lobby.
- 12.30-13.30 Lunch at the museum
- 16.00 Tour of the ART·HAND·WORK exhibition. Meet in the museum lobby.
17.30-19.00 Drinks reception and guided tour at Oslo City Hall
Please note that on 28 and 29 October the museum closes at 20.00, but on 30 October the museum closes at 17.00.
29 October
Please enter via the museum side entrance in Dronning Mauds gate.
- 8.45 Welcome addresses and introductions
Director Ingrid Røynesdal, the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Melissa Rinne, Senior Specialist, Kyoto National Museum and Chair of ICOM-DESIGN, and symposium convener, Dr Denise Hagströmer, Senior Curator, the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
Keynote lecture
Dr Sebastian Hackenschmidt, MAK – Museum für angewandte Kunst, Vienna
Prolonging the Magic: Vienna 1900 in Post-Production
Discussion
Break
Theme 1: Approaches to Reinstallations
Valérie Montens and Sophie Balace, Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels
Reframing Decorative Arts Displays at the Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels: Challenges and New Directions
Jessica Andersson Sjögerén and Josefin Kilner, Röhsska Museum, Gothenburg
Design Stories Reimagined: A Thematic Approach to Curating at Röhsska Museum
Dr Monica Obniski, High Museum of Art, Atlanta
Taking a Position with Design
Discussion
Lunch
Keynote lecture
Dr Leena Svinhufvud, Architecture and Design Museum, Helsinki
Shifting Baseline Syndrome and the Museum Collection. Displaying the Story of Finnish Architecture and Design for the 2030s
Discussion
Break
Theme 2: Perspectives on House Museums
Prof. Gabriele Toneguzzi, Iuav University of Venice
Palazzo Ducale in Venice: Beyond Heroization, Living Heritage and Contemporary Collection Displays
Helena Gomez, Vizcaya Museum and Garden, Miami
Pastiche as Practice: Contemporary Interventions at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Haitang Zhang, Glasgow School of Art
The Challenge of Virtual House Museums: Reclaiming Intimacy, Atmosphere, and Trust
Discussion
Break
Theme 3: Sustainability and Self-Questioning
Eleanor Watson, Design Museum and Kingston University, London
The Curse of Permanence: Curating Design Collection Displays in an Era of Rapid Climate Change
Dr Cilla Robach, National Museum, Stockholm
Curating the Audience?
Dr Bárbara Coutinho, MUDE - Museu do Design, Lisbon
Recycling Is Not Enough: How Museography and Scenography Can Promote Sustainability and Raise Awareness about the Durability of Things
Discussion
Ends circa 17.00
17.15: Option to join a guided tour of the historical and modern design collection display, conducted by Senior Curator Denise Hagströmer. Meet in the museum lobby.
Evening free.
The museum closes at 20.00.
30 October
8.45 Start. Please enter via the museum side entrance in Dronning Mauds gate.
Keynote lecture
Marco Magni, founder and chief architect, and Maria Cristina Rizzello, architect and partner, Guicciardini & Magni Architetti, Florence
Designing at the National Museum. Specific Installations for Global Themes
Discussion
Break
Theme 4: Design Mediating Design or Exploring Process
Prof Anders V. Munch, University of Southern Denmark and Joachim Allouche, Museum of Southeast Denmark and University of Southern Denmark
Made in Denmark: Using design collections to reconnect citizens with the realities of production
Dr Pamela Bianchi, École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture Paris-Belleville
Encyclopaedic Displays for Open Narratives
Evelien Bracke and Eva Van Regenmortel, Design Museum Gent
Models from the Past for the Future. A new collection display for Design Museum Gent
Lunch
Keynote lecture
Corinna Gardner, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Designing for a Better Future. Intent and Purpose in the Twenty-first Century Collections Display
Discussion
Theme 5: On Specificity and Subject Matter.
Henri Cosemans, University of Antwerp
Beyond the Coach House: Carriages and the Challenges of Museum Display
Dr Vanessa Ferey, Sorbonne University, Paris
Cognatheques as Living Displays: Reassessing Bottle Collections through Sensory Design and Territorial Museography
Dr Julia Meer, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg
Activating the Collection – Mind the Gaps and Dare to Be Vulnerable!
Discussion
Concluding remarks and Future Possibilities
Dr Sarah A. Lichtman, Chair, Pratt Institute, New York
The symposium will be recorded but not streamed.
The museum closes at 17.00.
17.30–18.30: Drinks reception in Salongen, 1st floor.
19.00: Symposium dinner at the Theatercaféen restaurant
31 October to 1 November: Post-Symposium Schedule
31 October morning:
-Coach to Bogstad Gård 18th century manor, followed by visit to:
-Villa Stenersen (Modern Movement house designed by Arne Korsmo)
-Lunch at Villa Stenersen
Afternoon:
-Coach to Snøhetta Studio followed by visit to Oslo Opera House
-Optional gallery visits.
1 November morning:
Local transport boat from Aker Brygge to Hovedøya island:
-Visit Kari Steihaug and Inger Johanne Rasmussen’s studios
-Return to Aker Brygge.
-Coach to Henie Onstad Art Center to see temporary exhibitions
-Lunch at Henie Onstad Art Center
Afternoon:
-Coach to Gustav Vigeland Museum and Ingerid and Gustav Vigeland's apartment, followed by:
-Coach to Emanuel Vigeland Museum and Mausoleum
-Coach returns to city centre.
1 November 19.00: Informal post-symposium farewell dinner at a pizzeria nearby the museum.
Tickets
Symposium fee: 2000 NOK (numbers limited, for symposium tickets, please see above)
Symposium dinner at the Theatercaféen restaurant: 700 NOK (numbers limited). Includes three courses and drinks.
The registration fee ticket includes:
- Three full days with four keynote lectures, fifteen talks and guided tours
- Lunch, coffee and refreshments for all three days and two drinks receptions
- Entry to the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
Post-symposium fee: 1000 NOK (numbers limited, for the post-symposium fee, please see above)
Post-symposium informal dinner 1 November at a pizzeria nearby the museum: 400 NOK (numbers limited)
Accommodation
A limited number of single rooms have been reserved at the Oslo Guldsmeden Hotel, Parkveien 78, 10 mins walk from the National Museum, at 1515 NOK per night, including a buffet breakfast. These rooms are available on a first come first served basis. Please email the hotel: oslo@guldsmedenhotels.com, reference: ‘Nasjonalmuseet-ICOM-DESIGN’, phone: +47 940 13 091.
About ICOM-DESIGN (formerly ICOM-ICDAD)
The ICOM International Committee for Decorative Arts and Design – ICOM DESIGN – is devoted to decorative arts and design collections preserved within encyclopedic museums, decorative arts & design museums and related collections conserved in historic houses and monuments, castles and other related sites.
ICOM DESIGN was created in 2000, resulting from the division of the former International Committee for Applied Arts (ICAA) into two committees: ICDAD and DEMHIST. More than 500 members, individual and institutional, are part of this committee: museological institutions from more than 50 countries, as well as archives and universities related to the fields of decorative arts, design and museology.
The Committee of Decorative Arts and Design is dedicated to different topics, including the design of products, experiences and stories behind the object, house interiors, reconstitution, conservation and exhibition, authors and techniques, preservation for the future and education.
To become a member of ICOM-DESIGN, please join ICOM first. Once you are an ICOM member, please log in to the member space and choose ICOM-DESIGN as your primary International Committee. If you encounter any problems, please contact secretary.design@icom.museum.
Symposium Convener and Enquiries
Dr Denise Hagströmer, Senior Curator, the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, and elected ICOM-DESIGN Board Member (2023-25).
For symposium enquiries, please email Denise Hagströmer.