World Forum for Motor Museums
A biennial meeting for motor museum professionals, principals, owners and collectors.
Save the Date
World Forum for Motor Museums 2026
Schlumpf Collection / Cité de l’Automobile
19–23 October 2026
Driving New Perspectives – The Future of Motor Museums
We are delighted to announce that the next edition of the World Forum for Motor Museums (WFFMM) will take place in Mulhouse, France, hosted at the iconic Schlumpf Collection / Cité de l’Automobile, from 19–23 October 2026.
What to Expect
Venue: The Schlumpf Collection, one of the world’s greatest automotive museums.
https://www.musee-automobile.fr/en/
Dates:
Monday, 19 Oct – Optional pre-tour to a local winery & evening welcome drinks.
Tue–Fri, 20–23 Oct – Morning conference sessions & afternoon cultural visits.
One Gala Dinner to bring us all together.
Focus:
Inspiring talks, interactive sessions, and behind-the-scenes exchanges on challenges, successes, and future directions of motor museums worldwide.
Themes:
1. The Motor Museum in a Changing World
How motor museums are redefining their purpose in response to climate crisis, changing public attitudes toward the car, and shifting expectations of cultural institutions. This session should move beyond prediction and focus on strategic positioning and relevance.
2. Restore, Conserve… or Reinterpret?
A critical re-examination of a long-standing debate, focusing on decision-making frameworks, audience impact, and transparency. Rather than revisiting theory, this session should present new case studies and discuss how interpretation changes when restoration choices are explained to the public.
3. Immersive & Participatory Motor Museums
How motor museums move beyond static display toward engagement, interaction, and participation—through physical, digital, and hybrid experiences. This topic explores how tools such as AI, data-driven interpretation, and adaptive technologies can deepen understanding, personalize learning, and connect audiences more meaningfully with motor heritage, without letting technology overshadow content, context, or authenticity.
4: Accessibility, Inclusion & Hidden Histories
Accessibility understood broadly: physical, cognitive, cultural, and social. This topic explores how motor museums can uncover underrepresented stories, challenge inherited documentation biases, and ensure broader access to collections and narratives.
5. Who Owns Motor Heritage? Clubs, Collectors & Institutions
An exploration of the evolving relationship between private collectors, clubs, and public museums. Topics include shared authority, trust, long-term stewardship, and how these partnerships shape public understanding of automotive history.
6. Archives, Brands & Globalisation
How globalisation, mergers, and new ownership structures affect access to archives and the telling of brand histories. This session should examine whose stories are preserved, who controls them, and how museums can respond when corporate narratives dominate.
7. Museography in Motion: Temporary Exhibitions & Storytelling
How temporary exhibitions, scenography, and events can test new narratives, attract new audiences, and provoke discussion—without undermining scholarly integrity or long-term collection strategies.
8. Motor Museums, Society & Responsibility
The role of motor museums as social actors: addressing political pressure, climate crisis, contested histories, and public debate. This session should tackle the responsibility of museums to tell complex stories even when they are uncomfortable.
Partner Program:
Optional excursions to Colmar, Eco-Musée d’Alsace, Peugeot Museum, and more.
Travel info:
Mulhouse is easily reachable from Paris via TGV or via train from Geneva or Frankfurt Airport.
Local transportation can be done walking, public transportation or ride share apps.
The organization is working with partner hotels in the city center.
More details will follow over the next months!
2024 World Forum in Japan
Final Report Overview:
WFFMM-JAPEN-2024
