About museum

Welcome to the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design (MDAD) – the largest collection of professional decorative art and design in Latvia!

Mission

MDAD surveys, preserves, studies and popularises the achievements of Latvian decorative art and design. MDAD is a platform for creative exchange between design, designers and the public.

Design as an Occasion

MDAD regularly organises relevant and ambitious exhibitions, creatively using its own collection as well as the collections of other museums to introduce the public to the history, present and future of decorative applied art and design.
MDAD invites discussion and fosters design thinking by holding cycles of lectures and conversations as well as creative practical workshops for children and adults.

The Story of Latvian Design

Several objects from the museum's collection are inscribed in Latvia's Canon of Art and Design and have received international recognition. The collection of the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design currently holds more than 11 928 items, while the exhibition halls display around 500 of these.
The permanent exhibition of the MDAD presents works of the leading Latvian designers and artists telling about the development of professional decorative art and design over the period from the late 19th century until today.

A Creative Platform

In organising exhibitions and educational programmes, MDAD collaborates with artists, designers, researchers and partner institutions in Latvia and abroad. MDAD strives to reflect the current processes in art, fashion and design. The museum realises interdisciplinary experimental projects that build creative synergy between different fields of art.