For the first time, Munich will be the venue for the world exhibition of modern medallic art: FIDEM XXXVIII will bring around 500 medals by 350 artists from over 30 countries to the city from 15 to 18 October 2025 - an intensive, three-day festival that will showcase the global diversity of medallic art. Parallel to the World Exhibition, the Staatliche Antikensammlungen München is showing the main exhibition "Our Myths - Our Roots" with selected medals, which can be seen until January 25, 2026. This will give visitors the opportunity to discover the works at their leisure beyond the official event days.
The exhibition opens up a fascinating dialog between classical form and contemporary small sculpture, in which tradition, innovation and cultural diversity meet. From Europe and Oceania to Asia and America, the artworks reflect different perspectives on current and timeless themes - a kaleidoscope of artistic visions ranging from political statements to sensitive explorations of indigenous cultures.
Our myths - Our roots © FIDEM
The medal as a medium can look back on over 500 years of history: it originated in the Italian Renaissance and found one of its most famous representatives in Germany with Albrecht Dürer. Historically, as today, medals are characterized by their two-sidedness: the main side presents the motif, while the reverse comments on, interprets or expands it. The diversity of this tradition is exemplified in the exhibition: German and American works take up political themes, Dutch and Latvian positions set avant-garde accents, while Japanese and New Zealand medals reveal a special sensitivity for indigenous cultures.
Our myths - Our roots © FIDEM
The World Exhibition itself is being organized by the Munich State Coin Collection in cooperation with the Fédération Internationale de la Médaille d’Art, under the patronage of His Royal Highness Duke Franz of Bavaria. Accompanying the exhibition in the Antiquities Collections, the supporting program offers lectures by leading medal art experts, workshops for artists, and other presentations in the city area. This creates a multi-layered picture of international medal art, bringing the past, present, and cultural identity to life in miniaturized, precisely designed objects.
The exhibition makes it clear that medals are much more than small mementos: they tell stories, reinterpret myths, and combine artistic innovation with historical roots. Visitors to the State Collections of Antiquities can discover great narratives in these small objects – and experience the media power of a centuries-old art form.
October 15, 2025 to January 25, 2026
www.antike-am-koenigsplatz.mwn.de
Our myths - Our roots © FIDEM
