Against the background of its prominent collections – works of European handicrafts dating from the twelfth to the twenty-first century, design, book art and graphics as well as Islamic and East Asian art – it strives to shed light on the obscure and create relationships between the events and stories revolving around things. The changing exhibitions tell of cultural values and evolving life circumstances given shape and expression with new forms. They moreover consistently point to the question of what applied art is and can be today, and the dichotomy between function and “aesthetic added value” that distinguishes this art form.
The architecture housing the Museum Angewandte Kunst was designed by Richard Meier. By integrating the Neoclassicist Metzler family villa built in the nineteenth century, he created an ensemble consisting of the surrounding park, the villa and the new building. With its re-opening in April 2013 and the restoration of the Meier architecture to its original splendour, the Museum Angewandte Kunst is conceived as a space of possibility, a realm of sensory thought and experience, a platform for research, dialogue and negotiation, conversation, cooperation and participation. An ambitious museum education programme offers individual access to the museum’s themes. Within that framework, what the visitors see, hear and experience in the presentations can be woven into the fabric of their own lifeworlds through personal exploration.
