NRW Forum

The NRW Forum Wirtschaft und Kultur or Forum NRW is a museum in Düsseldorf, the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, dealing with the development and the economy of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia or regions within it, e.g. the Rhine-Ruhr-region. It is located in the Ehrenhof complex, built by Wilhelm Kreis in 1925-26, which also houses the museum kunst palast.In the 1970s it was opened as the Museum für Industrie und Wirtschaft ("Museum for Industry and Economy"). In the 1990s it changed its name, and also the underlying concept behind the displays. Originally, more than 50% of the display was permanent, but nowadays there are changing exhibitions on several themes. For example, in 1998 there was an exhibition on design in the 1960s for three months, followed by one on the history of the VW Beetle. In 2000 there was a project showing the history, present and future scenarios of the Rhine-Ruhr region; and so on. The exhibitions are mostly based on political, historical, social or economical themes or phenomena, seen from a particular point of view. The museum specialises in photographic and new media collections.