Dear ICOM ICMAH Members, Museum Professionals, Friends,

ICOM International Committee for Museums and Collections of Archaeology and History invites you to participate in its Corporate Museums Working Group’s Workshop titled:

“The Shared Archive and Collection – Reimagining Corporate Museums as Civic Hubs”

Date: June 23, 2026 Venue: Hybrid (Musée de la Poste, Paris -France and online)

As the world’s oldest continuously operating institution, the corporate museum embodies the evolution of a “corporate” entity into a national monument of intangible heritage and craftsmanship. Since the end of the twentieth century, corporate museums have experienced a significant revival and have proliferated on an international scale. Numerous small business museums are established across various national territories, focusing on food and agricultural expertise, as well as traditional crafts and industrial productions with which local populations can resonate. At the global level, certain sectors, such as luxury goods and automotive, have developed expansive facilities, often designed by prominent architects. While many corporate museums began as private storehouses for brand identity, they are increasingly expected to act as “third places”—accessible venues for lifelong learning and community dialogue.

In this spirit, we invite researchers, museum professionals, and educators to submit proposals for a one-day workshop exploring how corporate museums can transcend their private origins to serve as vital civic hubs. This workshop seeks to investigate the strategies that transform industrial archives and collections into shared public assets, to explore the following themes:

• Transforming into Third Places: Strategies to transform private industrial archives and museums into community spaces that promote urban revitalization and social interaction.
• CSR and Empowerment: Utilizing corporate history to support marginalized communities, promote diversity, and build social impact initiatives.
• Beyond the “Brand Story”: encompassing the perspectives of workers, residents, and other marginalized stakeholders in the corporate museum’s exhibition.

The CALL FOR PAPERS is HERE

For the paper proposal submission, please fill out the form online through this link: https://forms.office.com/e/jQVnVmuteY

Participation in the workshop is free of charge. Please Register here: https://forms.office.com/e/SkFzCJmBRy

For more information or questions, please contact Secretary.icmah@icom.museum.

Cordially,

ICOM ICMAH Board