What is the International Museum Leadership Congress (IMCC)

The International Museum Leadership Congress (IMCC) is a premier gathering for museum and cultural leaders and design professionals from around the world. Held in some of the globe’s most iconic cultural venues, IMCC provides a trusted space to share ideas, discuss innovative projects, and explore the challenges shaping the future of museums.

Why IMCC?

IMCC is more than a congress—it’s a community. With attendance limited to around 250 participants, the congress fosters close connections, meaningful conversations, and high-quality networking opportunities. Sponsorships are carefully curated to ensure maximum visibility and engagement for our partners.

How We Curate Content

Each year, IMCC launches a call for session proposals in February, allowing participants to contribute ideas and shape the program. The Content Curation Committee reviews proposals and completes an in-depth scoring survey that guides the creation of the final congress agenda. The congress is held annually in late October or early November, rotating across Europe and featuring special regional InFocus editions.

Our Mission

  • Connect global museum leaders in a collaborative, safe space

  • Share knowledge and best practices from innovative museum projects

  • Highlight emerging trends in museum design, leadership, and visitor engagement

  • Celebrate cultural excellence by hosting the congress in world-renowned institutions

Past & Upcoming Host Cities and Venues

  • 2016 – Amsterdam / Rotterdam: Rijksmuseum; NEMO Science Museum; Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen; Kunsthal Museum

  • 2017 – Copenhagen: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art; M/S The Maritime Museum

  • 2018 – Berlin: Museum Island; Humboldt Forum; Museum für Naturkunde

  • 2019 – Hong Kong (InFocus): Tai Kwun; M+

  • 2019 – Budapest: Hungarian House of Music; Hungarian Museum Restoration and Storage Centre; Museum of Fine Arts

  • 2020 – Virtual Meeting: Online due to Covid-19

  • 2021 – London: The British Library; Museum of London; Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood & South Kensington Museum

  • 2022 – UAE (InFocus): Sharjah Heritage House; The Museum of the Future; Louvre Abu Dhabi

  • 2022 – Oslo: University of Oslo; Munch Museum; The National Museum; Kistefos Museum

  • 2022 – Antwerp: KMSKA; MAS; MoMu Fashion Museum; Antwerp City Hall

  • 2024 – Oman (InFocus): The National Museum; Royal Opera House Muscat; Oman Across Ages Museum

  • 2024 – Edinburgh: National Museum of Scotland; National Galleries of Scotland: Portrait; McEwan Hall / University of Edinburgh

  • 2025 – Tokyo (InFocus): Nezu Museum; National Art Center; Mori Art Museum; Artizon Museum

  • 2025 – Copenhagen: Royal Danish Library Cultural Center (The Black Diamond); BIG HQ; National Museum

  • 2026 – Notre Dame (InFocus): Notre Dame de Paris

  • 2026 – Basque Country (InFocus)

  • 2026 – Munich

Join the IMCC Community

IMCC is a platform for learning, sharing, and inspiring. IMCC offers unparalleled opportunities to connect with peers and shape the future of museums worldwide. We hope to see you at an IMCC event soon. For any questions, please contact Brian Mandrier, Managing Director.

A special thanks to Arne Kvorning and the Kvorning team for IMCC website design.

  • “IMCC's unique mix of sessions on the planning, commissioning, delivering and operating of major capital transformation projects and the insightful explorations of current debates and trends - plus the calibre of its attendees - have made it the most essential industry forum of the year.”

    — Jim Broughton

  • “The best museum conference I’ve attended in my 35 years working in the sector. The caliber and quality of the session topics is very high, and the attendees are an impressive group of decision makers from both the museum side and the supplier side of our industry. The networking opportunities are excellent, and I’ve had the chance to chat informally with people with whom I’d never get to meet in the course of my day to day work. The site visits are extremely useful as well as lots of fun. So, its fair to say that IMCC has expanded my mind and my contacts! The behind the scenes tour of the Natural History Museum in Berlin was a real highlight…I’ll never forget sipping a flute of champagne underneath the dinosaur skeleton!”

    — Ann E. Curtis
    Managing Director, Heritage Solution Ltd Editor, MuseumINSIDER

  • “The IMCC has become one of the most important forums globally for those designing, delivering and operating cultural venues. I have attended for many years as the event never fails to provide fantastic opportunities for learning, networking and knowledge sharing with colleagues from across the sector, and the bonus that all this takes places in interesting places and beautiful venues.”

    — Ben Melham
    Director of Mortice Consulting.

  • “The large family that forms IMCC drives and helps shaping the future of our international museum construction community during a time of unique challenges, it has become the lighthouse for current and future museums.”

    — Javier Martínez
    Proasur