The next Utzon Lecture will be delivered by Professor Barry Bergdoll, the Meyer Schapiro Professor of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University, at the UNSW on September 17.

Also the former chief curator of Architecture and Design at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Professor Bergdoll will explain how MoMA became a powerful advocate for better architecture and urban design.

Having built an excellent reputation as a creator of compelling and innovative exhibitions about architectural history and its great names, as well as an agitator for better architecture and urban design in future, Professor Bergdoll believes art museums can be much more than storehouses for masterpieces of the past and showcases for contemporary art; they can be powerful catalysts for real-world change.

In his Utzon lecture at UNSW’s Faculty of Built Environment, Professor Bergdoll will focus on MoMA’s role in housing reform and social planning in the United States; how the museum has raised awareness about the effects of climate change on urban environments; and its plans for future exhibitions and workshops that will examine the consequences of large-scale income disparity in rapidly expanding cities.

The Utzon Lecture, ‘Architecture in the Museum: The Art of Advocacy will be delivered on Wednesday 17 September, 6.30-7.30pm at the Keith Burrows Lecture Theatre, UNSW Kensington campus. Entry is free; however, registration is essential at www.be.unsw.edu.au/utzon-lecture-series/utzon/2014.