The forthcoming 25th ICOM General Conference, to be held in Kyoto on 1-7 September, will include a plenary session entitled "Asian Art Museums and Collections in the World". The session will take place on Wednesday 4 September at 11am. The session aims to provide an opportunity to consider how international networking and other endeavours can help foster better presentation and understanding of East Asian art in museums around the world. When presenting the session, ICOM has stressed that this year's gathering in Kyoto will mark the third ICOM general conference to be held in East Asia, following those in Seoul in 2004 and Shanghai in 2010. Together with this expansion, ICOM’s membership has grown to include more individuals working in Japan, China, and Korea and, accordingly, more members from museums and collections of Asian art in East Asia and around the world. At the same time, ICOM highlights that contemporary museum goers do not need to travel to East Asia to see Asian art. Whether exported through historical trade routes or by contemporary collectors, Asian art works can be found in museums around the world - as, indeed, ASEMUS member museums across Asia and Europe attest. In this respect, the plenary session on "Asian Art Museums and Collections in the World" on the occasion of ICOM Kyoto 2019 should provide an excellent opportunity to discuss existing collections and approaches, as well as opportunities for further cooperation.

ICOM Kyoto 2019: additional information

Between the 1st and the 7th of September 2019, Kyoto (Japan) will host the biggest and most important conference of museums in the world. More than 3.000 museum professionals and experts from all international backgrounds will participate in this triannual event, the 25th General Conference of ICOM. After 24 successful editions, ICOM’s flagship conference has become a worldwide reputed hub for exchange about the topical issues museums tackle today, as well as the most innovative solutions. Entitled "Museums as Cultural Hubs: The Future of Tradition", ICOM Kyoto 2019 aims to highlight two key concepts:

• Museums as 'Networks', supporting collaborative partnerships with one another;
• Museums as 'Cores', invigorating communities at the local level

The sub-theme “The Future of Tradition” aims to link museums to the future whilst respecting traditions. We invite you to check the ICOM Kyoto 2019 full programme and other details at https://icom-kyoto-2019.org/index.html