Mami Kataoka, new President of CIMAM 2020–2022

CIMAM celebrates the success of its 2019 Annual Conference in Sydney and the appointment of its new President, Mami Kataoka, Deputy Director and Chief Curator at Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, and Board members 2020–22

CIMAM has held its Annual Conference from November 15 to 17 hosted by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney, with a successful attendance of over 200 participants and the appointment of the new President for the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art (CIMAM), in addition to the nomination of the new Board.

The outgoing Board and the new elected Board members present in Sydney appointed Mami Kataoka, Deputy Director and Chief Curator at Mori Art Museum, to be the new President of CIMAM.

Suzanne Cotter, Director, Mudam Luxembourg—Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg has been appointed Secretary-Treasurer of the organization.

The outgoing President for the period of 2017–19, Elizabeth Ann Macgregor OBE, has been named Honorary Member of CIMAM in gratitude for her dedication and important contribution to CIMAM.

Mami Kataoka, to be appointed Director of Mori Art Museum from January 1, 2020, has declared: “I am thrilled to take this role of President of CIMAM as the first non-European President in its history. This is a reflection and expectation of the fact that CIMAM should be a truly global organization of modern and contemporary art museum professionals across the world. Together with our very experienced and engaged CIMAM Board and together with all the 600 plus CIMAM members, I am excited to see how CIMAM can contribute to the museum community and the contemporary society in the next three years."

The 2020–22 Board members are: Agustín Pérez Rubio, Curator 11th Berlin Biennale. Berlin, Germany. Ann-Sofi Noring, Co-director, Moderna Museet. Stockholm, Sweden. Bart De Baere, Director, M HKA—Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen. Antwerpen, Belgium. Calin Dan, Director, MNAC Bucharest—National Museum of Contemporary Art. Bucharest, Romania. Ernestine White, Director, William Humphreys Art Gallery. Kimberley, South Africa. Eugene Tan, Director, National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum. Singapore. Frances Morris, Director, Tate Modern. London, United Kingdom. Malgorzata Ludwisiak, Director, Centre for Contemporary Art. Warsaw, Poland. Rhana Devenport ONZM, Director, Art Gallery of South Australia. Adelaide, Australia. Sarah Glennie, Director, National College of Art and Design. Dublin, Ireland. Saskia Bos, Art historian and curator. Amsterdam, Netherlands. Suhanya Raffel, Museum Director, M+. Hong Kong, China. Victoria Noorthoorn, Director, Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The members of the board join different working groups throughout their three-year tenure. Working in sub-committees facilitate the implementation of the CIMAM programs such as the Museum Best Practices, the Museum Watch Program, the Travel Grant Program, the CIMAM Outstanding Museum Practice Award, the Sustainability and Ecology in Museum Practice, Engaging with ICOM, Fundraising and the Annual Conference Contents.

Over 200 modern and contemporary art museum professionals attended the CIMAM Annual Conference debates around the topics The 21st Century Art Museum: Is Context Everything?; Challenging the Narrative: Indigenous Perspectives; The Future of Collections; and Beyond the Walls.

Mami Kataoka gives a concluding overview on the conference: “The world surrounding museums of Modern and Contemporary Art is extremely complex with diverse context. If museums are transformative and active agency to reflect this world we are living, all of the issues we had discussed in Sydney during CIMAM Annual Conference, such as decolonization, new meaning of collection in relationship with art market, sustainability, ethics and funding, and museum activity beyond object, wall and building, must be discussed continuously on the CIMAM platform.”

Join CIMAM

Membership offers several benefits but above all, you will be part of a global contemporary art community representing the interests of the museum profession. CIMAM has over 600 members from 86 different countries. Members are directors and curators working in modern and contemporary art museums, collections, and archives, as well as independent curators.

All CIMAM memberships expire in December 2019. Keep your subscription current for 2020–22 by renewing your membership with CIMAM here.

About CIMAM

Founded in 1962, CIMAM (International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern) is an Affiliated Organization of ICOM (International Committee of Museums) that aims to foster a global network of museums and museum professionals in the field of modern and contemporary art in order to raise awareness and respond to the evolving needs of the profession, and to take a leadership role on issues of concern.