Every two years Members of the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies (ICADS) convene at the ICADS Biennial World Congress on Art Deco® in a city selected for its noteworthy Art Deco architecture. Each Congress brings together top scholars, global leaders and Deco enthusiasts for a week of lectures, tours, meetings with local governmental and cultural officials, and social activities in historic Deco settings.
WORLD CONGRESS ON ART DECO®
L’ église Ste-Madeleine-Sophie-Barat, Montreal, Canada. Photo: Art Deco Montreal
CONTINUING A RICH HISTORY OF PRESERVATION
The World Congress plays a vital role in generating global attention to Art Deco architecture and design and often becomes a clarion call for identifying and protecting endangered Art Deco. The 2013 World Congress in Havana revealed that a large number of the city’s 1930’s Deco treasures were in imminent danger of collapse after decades of neglect, which led to a new Havana preservation effort.
The 2019 World Congress in Argentina offered tours of rural communities to view monumental Art Deco works by Francisco Salamone, architect of more than sixty 1930’s municipal buildings in the Pampas built in the Art Deco style. Those visits became the catalyst for rediscovery, restoration and renewed global interest in the important contributions of Salamone to Art Deco architecture of the period.
Attendees of the 2019 World Congress on Art Deco® in Buenos Aires, Argentina
THE NEXT WORLD CONGRESS ON ART DECO®
The 2025 World Congress on Art Deco® will take place in Paris to celebrate the centennial of the 1925 Exposition Internationale Des Arts Decoratifs et Industrials Moderne, the event that led to the spread of the Art Deco style around the world. Click here to see a recent presentation exploring the concept of the 17th World Congress on Art Deco® which will include programming in Paris, Reims, Saint Quentin, Lille, and Brussels.
Les Folies Berge, Paris. Photo: Paris Art Deco Society
FUTURE WORLD CONGRESSES
ICADS will be soliciting applications for the 2027 World Congress from Member Societies in 2023. Check back for more details in late 2023.
HOST CITIES OF THE WORLD CONGRESS ON ART DECO®
1991 Miami, United States
1993 Perth, Australia
1995 Brighton and London, United Kingdom
1997 Los Angeles, United States
1999 Napier, New Zealand
2001 Tulsa, United States
2003 Cape Town, South Africa
2005 New York, United States
2007 Melbourne, Australia
2009 Montreal, Canada
2011 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2013 Havana, Cuba
2015 Shanghai, China
2017 Cleveland, United States
2019 Buenos Aires, Argentina
2021 World Congress cancelled due to Covid-19
2023 Miami, United States
2025 Paris, France
Pantages Theatre Auditorium. Photo: Art Deco Society of Los Angeles