Remaining Open, Acting Securely: How Museums Are Shaping Their Future
Climate risks, security, inclusion and artificial intelligence: MUTEC, taking place in Leipzig from 5 to 6 November 2026, will show how museums can respond to the major challenges of our time. The trade fair for museum and exhibition technology will feature ideas and presentations from international experts, demonstrating how museum work can become more sustainable, accessible and secure.
Some challenges are best addressed together. This is demonstrated by GreenMuseumHub, which brings together 30 partner museums in Germany, Egypt and Tunisia. Together, they are developing approaches to embedding sustainability in everyday museum practice – from their own ways of working to public engagement. One tangible result of this exchange will be on display at MUTEC: the pop-up exhibition “We Wanna Live!”.
The Inclusion Network likewise demonstrates the value of shared experience for the museum world. Seven German museums have set themselves the goal of permanently embedding access for as many people as possible in their work. Over a period of four years, they have developed tools and solutions to make this happen.
A secure museum?
Museums are open places for encounter and exchange. This makes it all the more difficult to introduce measures that could potentially limit that openness. Yet protecting collections and buildings is becoming a core concern for an increasing number of institutions. A four-part talk series organised by the German Museums Association will address prevention, emergency planning and crisis preparedness, as well as the question of how security structures can be embedded throughout a museum without compromising its openness.
Constantin Strobel, Project Director of MUTEC, explains: “Museums are facing complex tasks for which there is no one-size-fits-all solution. This makes it all the more important to exchange ideas about how other institutions are dealing with the same challenges and the solutions they have developed.” Strobel adds: “Like this year’s exhibition, MUTEC’s programme is highly international and characterised by diversity. This provides the museum world with ideal conditions for constructive exchange.”
Experiencing digital access – with MUTEC as a test case
Professor Sarah Kenderdine will explore the possibilities opened up by digital technologies in her presentation on Computational Museology. She will show how AI, data curation and immersive applications can create new ways of accessing collections. At the same time, she will address the questions raised by digital stand-ins and “cultural deep fakes”: what do they mean for authenticity, trust and curatorial responsibility?
Visitors can experience how new technologies feel in a museum first-hand at the centrally located interactive exhibition area. Mobile robots, interactive tactile boxes, a tactile interpretation table, a digital video microscope and an AI selfie station invite visitors to explore applications and discuss their potential. These and further projects will also be presented briefly in the Pitch Area adjoining the interactive exhibition area, adding further depth to the programme.
Visitors can also experience MUTEC itself as a test case: the digital MUSA Guide helps them discover relevant offerings at the trade fair and tailor their visit to their individual interests.
The full MUTEC programme can be found here .
MUTEC will take place in Leipzig on 5 and 6 November 2026, alongside denkmal.
