Mundaneum. Machine to think the world.
2023-04-27 08:00 - 2030-04-30 08:00 (Europe/Brussels) | Mundaneum, Rue de Nimy 76, Mons, Hainaut, 7000, Belgium
Permanent exhibition

Cities with possibilities – From utopias to future realities

Discover the permanent exhibition on the history of the Mundaneum!

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Permanent

Exhibition

1895, the Mundaneum machine takes off…

At the root of this humanist and universalist project is the deep conviction that peace in the world is possible thanks to the classification and sharing of knowledge. Behind these ideas, which embody an unwavering belief in progress and human knowledge,are men and women with incredible but often forgotten destinies: Paul Otlet, recognised as one of the fathers of the internet; Henri La Fontaine, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize; and Léonie La Fontaine, a key figure of Belgian feminism.

A veritable laboratory for thinking about the world, the Mundaneum has for decades housed and embodied the dreams of visionaries who devoted their entire lives to knowledge, information and documentation sciences, right down to inventing a real search engine long before the internet. This innovative project paved the way for many of the technologies that are now part of our everyday lives.

What remains today of this extraordinary adventure? A unique archival heritage, strong universal values and a utopian vision of the world that is still relevant and questions all of us as citizens.

Cette nouvelle exposition permanente vous invite à comprendre cette

This new permanent exhibition invites you to understand this formidable machine for thinking about the world, which offers timeless insight into our social issues.

So take a journey through time to better understand the world of tomorrow.

Cities with possibilities - From utopias to future realities
2025-03-14 08:00 - 2026-05-24 18:00
Cities with possibilities – From utopias to future realities

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temporary

exhibition

Immerse yourself in a fascinating journey through the dreams, ideals and plans for ideal cities through history, from the 19th century to the present day. “Cité des possibles – Des utopies aux réalités de demain” (Cities with possibilities – From utopias to future realities) invites visitors to explore the architectural and humanist visions that have shaped these utopias and ask questions about their impact on society today. From the idea to implementation, from the debates to the diversions, the exhibition showcases all of the different facets of these projects through documents and interactive exhibits.

Right at the heart of the exhibition is the visionary project, the Cité Mondiale or World City, the brainchild of Paul Otlet, who cofounded the Mundaneum. This pioneer dreamed of a universal space dedicated to knowledge and international cooperation, a city designed to promote peace and progress. With the help of his colleagues, including Henri La Fontaine, as well as renowned architects like Le Corbusier, he came up with the idea of a city housing all of the world’s intellectual knowledge, a model city, free from any geographical or ideological boundaries. While the World City never became a reality, it is still a powerful, timeless source of inspiration.

The exhibition also explores lots of other projects, from the past and the present, that redefine and rethink our relationship with the world. These initiatives, sometimes born out of very different circumstances, continue to inspire us with ways in which we can rethink the city, how it is organised and how it functions, in order to meet the challenges of our era, from climate change to social inequality and issues relating to mobility. Some of these projects have been heavily influenced by humanist ideals, while others strive to reconcile architectural progress, quality of life and sustainability. Through these examples, the exhibition also asks questions about the deviations and the political, economical or social obstacles that have hindered some of these utopias, transforming ambitious dreams into failures or dystopias.

“Cité des possibles – Des utopies aux réalités de demain” is a fascinating journey that encourages you to dream, to ask questions, and to reinvent the future of our towns and cities. How can we rethink the way we live and coexist in a world that is constantly changing? What can we learn from these utopias if we want to tackle the challenges of successful coexistence today? By asking these questions, the exhibition triggers a conversation between the past and the present, the ideal and reality, and encourages all of us to think of some innovative solutions for the urban spaces of the future.

An exhibition presented by the Mundaneum in partnership with the Masters course in Expographie-Muséographie at the University of Artois in Arras (France).

Au Mundaneum
