MUTEC Award 2026: Three Exhibition Projects from Bern, Dresden and Hamburg Honoured

Three exhibitions, three different approaches to design and interpretation: The MUTEC Award 2026 has today honoured projects that combine socially relevant issues with high-quality design, participatory approaches and engaging visitor experiences. The independent expert jury selected the winners from twelve nominated projects. Nearly 70 projects from Germany, Austria and Switzerland were submitted.

The awards went to “Glitter” by the Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe Hamburg, “Women Make Männel” by the Museum of Saxon Folk Art of the Dresden State Art Collections, and “Forgotten by Fortune: Coercive Welfare Measures in Bern and Switzerland” by the Bernisches Historisches Museum. The jury deliberately chose to present three equal awards: each project impressed in its own way through exceptional quality and innovative perspectives on museum and exhibition practice.

“The awarded projects demonstrate how diverse and relevant exhibitions can be today,” says Constantin Strobel, Project Director of MUTEC. “They make complex issues tangible, create a sense of closeness and invite visitors to adopt new perspectives. The MUTEC Award therefore recognises not only design quality, but also the contribution museums make to social dialogue.”

“Glitter”

Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe Hamburg

Design: TheGreenEyl, Rimini Berlin

With “Glitter”, the Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe Hamburg explored an omnipresent material that is rarely taken seriously. Across 600 square metres, cultural-historical exhibits, artistic works, interactive stations and objects contributed by visitors opened up new perspectives – ranging from pop culture and material history to questions of visibility, including in queer styles. The jury particularly recognised the combination of lightness and depth, as well as the exhibition’s design quality.

From the laudatory speech by Prof. Dr Joachim Baur, member of the MUTEC Award jury:

“The design translates the thematic richness of the exhibition’s many facets with remarkable sensitivity into spatial imagery, architectural interventions and aesthetic solutions. It sparkles with ideas and variety without resorting to showy effects. With great openness, participation, enthusiasm and joy, the exhibition demonstrates what exhibitions can achieve in interpreting and negotiating our present.”

„Frauen machen Männel“ [Women Make Männel]

Museum of Saxon Folk Art, Dresden State Art Collections

Design: Irene Pätzug, Veit Pätzug

With the special exhibition “Women Make Männel”, the Museum of Saxon Folk Art places female artists and craftswomen centre stage who have turned and carved figurines from 1900 to the present day. The jury particularly recognised the understated, sensuous scenography and the new perspective it offers on the collection.

From the laudatory speech by Claudia Glass, board member of the Swiss Association of Scenography and member of the MUTEC Award jury:

“The exhibition invited visitors into an almost intimate dialogue. Oversized images of the craftswomen and artists encouraged them to take a seat at the second-hand tables positioned opposite. This direct encounter created a particular sense of closeness: visitors found themselves in a similar physical position to that of the women portrayed while at work.”

“Forgotten by Fortune: Coercive Welfare Measures in Bern and Switzerland”

Bernisches Historisches Museum

Design and project team: Karin Bucher, Tanja Rietmann, interdisciplinary project team at the Bernisches Historisches Museum

The exhibition gives visibility to people affected by coercive welfare measures. Through the installation “Names of Forgetting”, it combines personal voices, remembrance work and a participatory form of interpretation.

From the laudatory speech by Susanne Zils, Museum Construction Project Manager at DOMiD e. V. and jury member:

“The jury considers the project deserving of this award primarily because participation is not understood as an additional offering, but as a guiding principle underpinning the entire exhibition. It shapes the concept, design, implementation and ongoing operation. ‘Forgotten by Fortune’ impressively shows how consistent decisions in developing and delivering an exhibition can turn a museum into a place where people contribute their own stories and shared remembrance has a social impact.”

Who was nominated, and who made the decision?

The MUTEC Award is presented by Leipziger Messe in cooperation with ICOM Germany and VerA – Verband für Ausstellungsgestaltung e. V. The award honours innovative, sustainable, inclusive and high-quality exhibition projects in German-speaking countries.

Twelve exhibition projects were shortlisted for the MUTEC Award .

The decision on the MUTEC Award was made by a distinguished jury. Leipziger Messe would like to thank its members for their professional commitment. The jury members are:

• Matthias Kutsch – Chair of VerA, the German Association for Exhibition Design
• Prof. Dr Joachim Baur – Professor and independent curator, Technical University of Dortmund / Die Exponauten, Berlin; board member of ICOM Germany
• Susanne Zils – Spokesperson for the Exhibitions Working Group at the German Museums Association; Museum Construction Project Manager at DOMiD e. V. – Documentation Centre and Museum of Migration in Germany
• Prof. Dr Gisela Weiß – Dean of Studies for Museology/Museum Education, HTWK Leipzig
• Claudia Glass – Board member of the Swiss Association of Scenography
• Dr Marko Mele – Scientific Director of the Universalmuseum Joanneum

Photos of all award winners are available in our cloud storage . Password: denkmalmutec. Please use the photo credit: “Leipziger Messe, Tom Schulze”.