muscon Tokyo 2026 related program
Public Talk "Presenting Design, Collecting Architecture: Museum Practices in a Global Context"

Mateo Kries has been director of the Vitra Design Museum since 2011. He holds a PhD in art history from Humboldt University in Berlin and has been working as a curator of the Vitra Design Museum since 1995. Kries’ work as a museum director, writer and curator revolves around contemporary design in the context of social change, sustainability, diversity, and innovation. He has widely published and lectured about these topics, as well as about the history of design and architecture in the 20th century. Kries is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and holds an Honorary Professorship at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe.

Ikko Yokoyama is the Senior Curator and Head of Design and Architecture at M+, Asia’s global museum of contemporary visual culture, in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District. Since joining M+ in 2016, she has played a pivotal role in building its foundational Design and Architecture collection and developing various exhibitions and public programmes. Additionally, she is the Co-President of the International Confederation of Architectural Museums (ICAM) and serves on the advisory panel of CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textiles) in Hong Kong. She also involved in three consultative roles in Japan: as a committee member of the Design-DESIGN MUSEUM, an expert committee member of the National Center for Art Research, and a member of the expert advisory group for the Council for Cultural Affairs in the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Brendan Cormier is the Chief Curator of V&A East, comprising both Storehouse and V&A East Museum, two new sites on the Olympic Park in London. Over the last 11 years at the V&A he has curated several projects, including the V&A Gallery at Design Society in Shenzhen, A World of Fragile Parts (2016) and On Storage (2025) for the Venice Architecture Biennale, Cars: Accelerating the Modern World (2019) at V&A South Kensington, and Photo City: How Image Shaped the Urban World (2024) for V&A Dundee.

Born in Chiba Prefecture in 1958. Served as curator at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park and at the Osaka City Museum of Modern Art Planning Office before being appointed head of the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka Planning Office in 2017. Has held his current position since 2019. In charge of supervising the establishment of the new museum, as well as the fields of modern design, photography, and contemporary art. Also actively engaged in criticism and commentary in these fields. Has organized major exhibitions, including Discovering Osaka, City of Art (1997) and The Age of Hayakawa Yoshio (2002). Co-authored books include Approaches to Urban Design (1998) and Critical Words for Design History (2006). Director General of the National Art Center, Tokyo, since April 1^st, 2026. Serves as Special Advisor to the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka.