The conference titled “Open air Museums as Cultural Brokers and Agents of Change” will take place on 7–10 September 2026 in Romania, hosted by the Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum in Bucharest and the ASTRA Museum in Sibiu.
It will explore the evolving role of open-air museums as bridges between cultural heritage and contemporary society. Over the past decade, open-air museums have faced profound challenges that have reshaped the field: engaging diverse communities, rethinking representation, addressing sensitive histories, accelerating digital transformation, or adapting conservation and restoration practices to climate change and extreme weather conditions.
The conference in Romania will reflect on these transformations and the increasingly transformative role of open-air museums today – connecting tradition and modernity, rural and urban contexts, past and future — while opening space for dialogue on some of the most pressing and complex questions in open-air museology.
AEOM 2026 will also be a celebration. We will mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of our Association and honour one of our host institutions, the Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum, celebrating 90 years of activity in Bucharest.
The conference programme will combine:
- Inspiring presentations and discussions
- Onsite experiences and tours
- Opportunities for networking and exchange
Pre-conference tour: 6 September (Route & sites: Bucharest – Sinaia – Peleș and Pelișor Castles – Bucharest)
Post-conference tour: 11 September (Sibiu – Villages of Biertan and Alma Vii and their Fortified Churches belonging to UNESCO World Heritage – Sibiu)
We warmly invite you to join us for this important gathering of the open-air museum community!
Call for papers and draft programme can be downloaded here.
Full information on registration and the programme is available here.