by Peter Bichler, Chair of ICOC International Committee
I would like to brief members of ICOC International Committee and our website readers on some new developements regarding the plans for the forthcoming ICOC.
As I discussed with Alberto Boralevi, I recently visited the Italian town of Brescia which houses the new museum of the Fondazione Tassara, the MITA. The collection consists of more then 1.300 superior classical carpets and should definitely be earmarked for a future ICOC Northern Italy.
The destination of Northern Italy is in fact being discussed in the EC for a future ICOC and it would indeed be the perfect location to celebrate the 50th anniversery of the ICOC. The high density of superb collections, museums and dealers in this region are rarely found anywhere else in the world.
However, as the Winter Olympic Games will take place in Milano and Cortina in 2026, it would indeed be a logistical nightmare to run an ICOC including Milano, Torino and Brescia that year. For this reason it is most likely that we will be obliged to focus on 2027 for this ICOC event. This would also allow sufficient time for museums, galleries and private collections to make arrangements to have their best own and international collections on display.
In the meantime, our IC menber Esther Sackmann Rageth will be organising the 50th anniversity of the FTT (Forum Textil- und Teppichkunst) in Basel, Switzerland in March 2026. Exhibitions and presentations (mainly in German) are expected to attract a Europe-wide and international audience.
Peter Bichler, Chair of ICOC International Committee