We are delighted to announce that in 2026, Brno will host the Design History Society Annual Conference. Titled Design in an Age of Uncertainty, the event will explore the urgent issues that shape not only the present of design history, but also its pasts and possible futures. From the 3rd to the 5th of September, the Department of Art History will host an event dedicated to exchange of ideas about design history, theory, criticism and practice and will bring together the best and up-to-date research in the field from established as well as emerging scholars!
Exciting news was announced at the close of this year’s Design History Conference in Ankara. Its next instalment will take place in Brno and will be hosted by the Department of Art History, Faculty of Arts of the Masaryk University!
This prestigious event offers a platform for exchange of ideas about design history, theory, criticism and practice and brings together the best and up-to-date research in the field from established as well as emerging scholars. In a highly competitive bid, Brno was chosen as the host with the topical theme “Design in an Age of Uncertainty” that aims to address the pressing issues that not only inform the current state of design history but also its pasts and futures. For more details on the topic, look out for our call for papers coming soon.
Design History Society is based in the United Kingdom. It is one of the leading organisations for the study of design histories and has a rich portfolio of events and activities. It is also the publisher of the prestigious Journal of Design History. The DHS annual conference is one of the highlights and has taken place, apart from Ankara, in Canterbury, Porto, New York and Brighton, to name just a few from the long list of locations.
As the first ever hosts of this event from Central Europe, the local convenors (Marta Filipová, Veronika Hittmanová Rollová, Matthew Rampley and Julia Secklehner) are delighted to make Brno the place of current debates in design history.
Save the date for Design in an Age of Uncertainty, 3–5 September 2026, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University!
We present the program of the workshop Agents of Change: Folk Cultures in the Long 20th Century, which will take place at our department on the 18th and 19th of June 2026. Click on the article to view the full workshop program and abstracts of the individual lectures.
We cordially invite you to participate in the workshop Modernism's Future Pasts: Abstraction and Identity in 'East-Central Europe', 1910s–1930s, organised as part of Getty Foundation's Connecting Art Histories initiative.
Part of the workshop will take place in Brno, where you will be welcomed by our colleague Matthew Rampley and have the opportunity to attend a lecture by the head of our centre Marta Filipová.