ICOM-Design International Symposium

National Museum, Oslo
28–30 October 2025
Post-Symposium 31 October–1 November 2025

Deadline: 29 July 2025

For more information on how to apply click here.

The Design Collection Displays Reassessed symposium will discuss collection displays as sites of knowledge exchange and active engagement. The new National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, a merger of four previously independent museums, is a fitting venue for a symposium with this theme. It opened its new, large-scale collection display in 2022, including decorative arts, design, interiors, fashion and studio crafts from the 1100s to the present.

Keynote Speakers

• 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
• Dr Leena Svinhufvud, Leading Researcher, Architecture & Design Museum, Helsinki

Image: Marco Magni, Guicciardini & Magni Architetti, sketch for Room 21, the collection display, National Museum, Oslo. Photo: Mario Ciampi

Photo: National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo. Image courtesy of Nasjonalmuseet

In addition to its Annual Conference in Dubai, ICOM–DESIGN is also organizing a separate 2025 International Symposium on the theme of “Collection Displays Reassessed” at the new National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo (Nasjonalmuseet), 28–30 October, 2025. This program, organized by Nasjonalmuseet Senior Curator and ICOM–DESIGN board member Dr. Denise Hagströmer, will be followed by a special post-symposium tour to local destinations 30 October–1 November. Stay tuned for more information to come!