MONIKA SOMMER
Curator. Historian. Founding Director, House of History Austria.
Monika Sommer has been the founding director of the House of Austrian History (hdgö) at the Austrian National Library since 2017. Previous positions include the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the International Research Centre for Cultural Studies Vienna, the Wien Museum and the European Forum Alpbach. She has worked as a consultant for the Dom Museum Vienna and the Tiroler Landesmuseen, among others. In 2009, together with D. Höss and H. Uhl, she curated the project "IN SITU. Zeitgeschichte findet Stadt" in public urban space. Since 2006 she has been co-director of the /ecm course for exhibition theory and practice at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. She is a member of the board of schnittpunkt. ausstellungstheorie & praxis, financial officer of the Austrian Museums Association, member of the Military Historical Monument Commission of the Federal Ministry of Defence and member of the scientific advisory board of the House of History of North Rhine-Westphalia, which is currently under construction. For her activities, she was awarded the Science Prize of the Chamber of Labour of Upper Austria, the Theodor Körner Prize and the People's Education Prize of the City of Vienna. The European Museum Forum awarded the hdgö the Kenneth Hudson Award for Institutional Courage and Professional Integrity.
Monika Sommer / © Luzia Puiu
“Knowledge of the past creates understanding and awareness of the social and political developments of the present. This conviction is a central part of my daily work at the hdgö and the cornerstone for the conception of the contemporary history museum as a discussion forum with relevance for today.”
“I am convinced that an open exchange about current developments must be given high priority in a contemporary history museum. Both educational formats and multi-voiced, critical discussions strengthen social awareness of the value of democracy and equality.”
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