MAKK Museum für Angewandte Kunst Köln

In the location's words:

MAKK - Art and Design

The Museum of Applied Arts Cologne (MAKK) was founded in 1888 and is the second oldest museum in the city of Cologne. It stands for art and design. With its extensive collection of European arts and crafts, fine art and international design, it is unique in North Rhine-Westphalia. Just like the concept of the collection presentation "Art and Design in Dialogue", which provides a view of simultaneous phenomena in the history of art and design: Piet Mondrian and Gerrit T. Rietveld, Oskar Schlemmer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Josef Albers and Charles & Ray Eames, Christo and Ron Arad and many other juxtapositions offer insights into the respective decades.

Another unique feature is the new permanent exhibition "Fascination Jewelry. 7000 years of jewelry art at the MAKK", ranging from ancient oriental gems from the 5th millennium BC to contemporary jewelry works. The collection is one of the most important jewelry collections in Germany and is being presented for the first time on an unprecedented scale.

The diversity of the collection's objects, styles, materials and themes also determines the range of exhibitions and events on offer at the museum. Whether photography, art, furniture, jewelry, fashion, porcelain or contemporary design - the MAKK sees itself as a lively forum. Prizes for design and arts and crafts are regularly awarded at the MAKK: "Cologne Design Prize", "NRW State Prize for Arts and Crafts Manufactum", "iphiGenia Gender Design Award", "German Youth Photography Prize". There are also numerous cooperation projects with universities, partner museums and the independent cultural scene.

The museum building by Rudolf Schwarz and Josef Bernard, located close to Cologne Cathedral, is celebrated as an architectural icon. In 1957, it was the first museum building to be completed after the Second World War in the architectural language of modernism. In the inner courtyard there is a fountain as well as a pillar and supporting beams by the painter and sculptor Ewald Mataré.