Exhibition
Collection. Models from the Past for the Future - Exposition
- Date03.10.26—31.12.29
- LocationDesign Museum GentDrabstraat 10
- AudienceAll ages
- AccessIncluded in admission ticket
- LanguageDutch, English, French
Discover our collection display
At a time when we need new models and fresh ways of imagining the future more than ever, the past can feel surprisingly relevant. But how can a design collection continue to inspire us in 2026?
In this collection display, curator Evelien Bracke explores that question through around 500 objects. Together, they reveal how the materials, techniques and design approaches of the past can remain meaningful for tomorrow's designers and users. At the same time, they show how our perspective inevitably changes. What once seemed the ultimate design solution may now invite a more critical view.
Back to our roots
This display also looks back to the museum's origins. When Design Museum Gent was founded in 1903 as a model museum, it brought together outstanding examples of design. Furniture, ceramics, textiles and other objects were presented as models to inform and inspire craftspeople and the public during a period of profound social and technological change.
Today, we find ourselves at another turning point. As the need for alternative perspectives and new ways of imagining the future continues to grow, we reinterpret the idea of the model museum for the present day.
Every object on display was once considered an example to follow. But which designs remain surprisingly relevant today? And which ones now invite nuance, reflection or even criticism?
Five themes, new perspectives
The collection is viewed through a contemporary lens, with objects grouped around five themes that reflect today'schallenges: Copy, Comfort, Migration, Folding and Connections. Each theme invites you to look beyond form, exploring the technical connections that make objects possible and the ways people, materials, objects and ideas move across time and place.
As we rethink comfort and consumption in an age of energy scarcity, we rediscover the value of intelligent, sustainable ideas from the past. Can historicalfolding techniques inspire more flexible living spaces as our homes become smaller? Can copying and reinterpreting materials, techniques and nature offer alternatives for the future?
Each object becomes a lens through which to imagine tomorrow, asking what we should preserve and what we should dare to redesign.
A space of contrasts
Architects Nord and Laura Muyldermans have created an exhibition design that reflects today's period of transition, a time shaped by contrasts. On the onehand, rapid technological innovation is transforming the way we design. On the other, there is a growing appreciation for craftsmanship, natural materials andtraditional techniques.
This tension between tradition and innovation also lay at the heart of the original model museum. By combining hand-applied clay plaster with Skellet, anindustrially produced circular steel construction system, the exhibition demonstrates how low-tech and high-tech approaches increasingly coexist in contemporary design practice.
Credits
| Curator | Evelien Bracke |
| Assistant Curator | Benoît Vandevoort |
| Research | Marie Becuwe, Sam Meirlaen, Eva Van Regenmortel en Nina Serulus |
| Exhibition Design | Nord + Laura Muyldermans |
| Graphic Design | Studio Grafisch Ontwerp |
| Film | Alexandre Humbert |
Will you join us?
- Guided tour
- 17.10.26—31.12.29
Collection. Models from the Past for the Future
How can a design collection inspire us today? Explore the museum's history and discover its objects through five surprising contemporary themes.