William Linnaeus Casey
Marlborough House: Second Room, 1857
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

From 19-21 January 2012 the international and interdisciplinary congress THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF ART AND DESIGN MUSEUMS will take place in the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle in Bonn, discussing the significance, the role as well as the history and future of art and design museums.

The congress is a collaboration of the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle with the Department of Art History at Bonn University and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, organised on the occasion of the exhibition ART AND DESIGN FOR ALL. THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, which is hosted by the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle from 18 November 2011 to 15 April 2012.
Moreover, the congress continues a series of lectures on museology initiated by Prof. Dr. Anne-Marie Bonnet at the University of Bonn.

After a reconstruction of the history of museums for art and design, the congress will focus on the question of changing profiles and new concepts for museums of art and design.
Together with international experts and young academics from theory and practice, the congress aims at examining today's relationships of art and design museums. What were and are their connections with the market? What is the relationship between art and design museums and schools of design today? In what kind of social, economical and cultural framework do art and design museums operate, and how far-reaching is their impact? How is design perceived in the context of the expanding forms of art practice and how do new technologies change design? How do we define a museum of art and design today? Which innovative concepts can guarantee success today? What are the tasks of museums of art and design, and how can they be best performed?

After a presentation of the prototypes of the art and design museum, the aspects of marketing and of teaching in modern museums for art and design will be taken into account. In continuation, the congress will examine the relation between art and design museums and their audience as well as their communicators and critics. Renowned professionals in this field will be given the floor in both the lectures and the panel discussion: among others, the curators of the exhibition ART AND DESIGN FOR ALL. THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, Marie-Louise von Plessen and Julius Bryant, Anne-Marie Bonnet and Martin Roth. Krzysztof Pomian will give a public lecture.