About CIMAM

CIMAM – International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art – is an Affiliated Organization of ICOM. Founded in 1962, CIMAM’s vision is a world where the contribution of museums, collections, and archives of modern and contemporary art to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of society is recognized and respected.

The destiny of the Gelman Collection: on the responsibilities towards heritage

CIMAM’s Museum Watch group has followed with concern the controversy around the destiny of the Gelman collection, an important group of works by key Mexican modernist artists that will shortly leave the country to be exhibited in Spain.

Call for Contributions: Ethical Principles for Museum Collections

CIMAM's Museum Watch Committee (MW) is launching a new research initiative to develop a framework of ethical principles to guide building and maintaining a museum collection.

Curating Across Uneven Grounds

Join the upcoming CIMAM Connects session on Wednesday, 30 September, at 4:00 pm (Manila Time). Led by Portia Placino, this conversation brings together CIMAM members to explore how curatorial practice navigates the tensions between theory and everyday realities across diverse global contexts.

Rethinking Collection Governance

On 18 September 2026, CIMAM, in collaboration with MACBA, will host a panel discussion in Barcelona to explore the ethical principles that should guide museum collection management today.

Museums Beyond Limits: Imagining Repair Across Cultures, Ecologies and Knowledges

In an era marked by planetary precarity, political volatility, and intensifying epistemic contestation, museums are being called to operate beyond inherited limits. The conference proposes repair as a radical, plural, and ongoing practice grounded in relationality, care, and accountability.

Registration to CIMAM 2026

REGISTER NOW! General registration for the 58th CIMAM Annual Conference in Harare, Zimbabwe, is now officially open. Post-Conference Tour to Masvingo: Great Zimbabwe and Serima Mission. Registration will remain open until 30 September 2026, unless the conference reaches full capacity and places are sold out earlier.

September Art Biennials: Free Admission for CIMAM Members

This September, CIMAM members can enjoy free admission to two major international art biennials with prior registration: Counterpublic 2026: "Coyote Time" (Preview Day: 11 September) and the 18th Lyon Biennale: "To Pass from One Dream to Another" (Preview Days: 17–18 September). Registration is required.

Museum Watch Actions

The Museum Watch Program is intended to be a tool to assist modern and contemporary art museum professionals in dealing with critical situations that impact on the museums' ability to maintain their codes of practices.

Toolkit on Sustainability in the Museum Practice

The CIMAM toolkit aims to assist professionals in contemporary art museums to adopt sustainable practices in their institutions and personal work. It aims to facilitate the necessary changes to promote social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

Free Admission Program Biennials

CIMAM members benefit from free admission and access to exclusive programs at a selection of contemporary art biennials around the world. Discover which biennials are participating this year and take advantage of your free access or reserve your place in their special programs.

Publishing Discounts for CIMAM Members

One of the benefits of being a CIMAM member is access to exclusive discounts from a selection of leading international publishers specialising in modern and contemporary art, museum studies, curatorial practice, architecture, design, and critical thinking.

Get the Best of CIMAM

As a CIMAM member, you’ll enjoy exclusive benefits that advance your career, expand your professional network, and strengthen your voice within the global museum community.

CIMAM: What’s On Now

Stay up to date with CIMAM’s current opportunities. Your engagement strengthens our global museum community.

Join CIMAM for the 2026-28 term

Museums and museum professionals do not operate in isolation; they are part of a global ecosystem sustained by exchange and collaboration. CIMAM exists to nurture and strengthen that ecosystem. Join CIMAM today to stay globally connected and engage in critical debates that actively shape museum practice worldwide.

CIMAM News

Here you will find our latest news about programs, open calls, job positions, museum watch actions, and much more. Don't lose sight of CIMAM's news section!

Press Release Archive