Open Call for 2026 OMPA Nominations
March 2, 2026 – CIMAM opens the Call for Nominations for the sixth edition of the Outstanding Museum Practice Award (OMPA) 2026, an international recognition of the incredible work being done in modern and contemporary art museums worldwide.
The award aims to highlight museum practices that can drive structural transformation, foster deeper connections with people, communities, and context, and serve as catalysts for meaningful change.
The deadline for submitting a nomination is April 15, 2026, at midnight CET.
Submit your nomination here
About the Award
Established in 2021, the CIMAM Outstanding Museum Practice Award (OMPA) encourages museum professionals to share exemplary practices that can inspire the sector. It fosters a spirit of shared learning, collaboration, and resilience, providing valuable insights that can help museums navigate their specific contexts while addressing challenges relevant across different parts of the world.
As museums continually adapt to evolving challenges, the Outstanding Museum Practice Award recognizes those who redefine their role in society. It celebrates excellence and innovation in modern and contemporary art museums, acknowledging initiatives that go beyond scale and resources to create meaningful, lasting contributions to individuals, communities, and their environments.
By submitting a nomination, museum professionals contribute to identifying practices that can shape the sector’s future, reinforcing the essential role of museums as spaces for knowledge sharing, recognition, and sustainable transformation. These initiatives can set standards for best practices, positioning museums not only as safe spaces for a deeper understanding of the world through art but also as leading references for fostering a more responsible and interconnected relationship between people, museums, and the environment.
Nominations from around the world enable CIMAM to gain deeper insight into the diverse socio-political, economic, and cultural landscapes in which museums operate. They highlight outstanding practices that address challenges relevant across regions, ensuring a global exchange of innovative and exemplary museum strategies.
Who Can Submit a Nomination?
- The nomination process is open to modern and contemporary museum professionals worldwide.
- Candidates can submit their own museum’s practice or recognize another museum’s outstanding initiative.
- CIMAM membership is not a requirement
- Eligible institutions must be dedicated to modern and contemporary art and align with ICOM’s Museum Definition.
Nomination Criteria:
- Exemplary practices and programs for achieving the mission of the museum or collection through innovative approaches to core activities such as conservation, education, collection, exhibition programs, publications, research, public access, communication, governance, and sustainability.
- Museum programs that provide relevant, sustainable, and collaborative content to create meaningful and lasting connections with people, communities, and their context, contributing to lasting structural change within museum operations.
- Practices that reflect an institutional purpose rooted in ethical and sustainable values, which seek to provide significant value to people, communities and their specific contexts.
- Nominations should demonstrate practices and programs committed to contributing to the arts and their communities with a medium- and long-term vision.
- The nominated practice must demonstrate its potential to inspire other museums and cultural institutions to adapt it to different contexts, contributing to broader structural transformation within the field.
Examples of best practices include:
- Governance practices that reinforce the value of the museum’s people and culture and consistently support the museum’s mission, vision, and purpose.
- Innovative acquisition policies and ways of presenting modern and contemporary art collections and exhibitions that are relevant to the audiences they serve, their scale, and context.
- Innovation in public, educational, communication, and accessibility programs for different age groups, community diversity, and narrative approaches.
- Innovation in national and international partnership programs between museums to promote more sustainable museum practices regarding the itineracy of exhibitions and the education and outreach of audiences.
- Innovation in interpreting current standards of museum practice with a vision of a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable future.
- Innovative museum practices that address changing social and cultural realities to ensure relevance to the public for museums of the future.
- Innovative practices that address critical and urgent situations affecting the integrity of the museum or its subsistence.
Exclusions:
- The award does not cover exhibitions, awards, or one-time events.
- Nominations to the OMPA that involve museums affiliated with current CIMAM Board Members, Patrons, or other CIMAM Program Supporters will not be considered, in order to prevent any conflict of interest.
Selection Process
Nominations undergo a rigorous evaluation by the OMPA Steering Committee, composed of Kamini Sawhney (Chair), Joselina Cruz, Shabbir Hussain Mustafa, Amanda de la Garza, Pablo Lafuente, and Stephanie Rosenthal.
Recognition and Impact:
The selected museum practices will receive:
- An invitation for one museum representative to attend the CIMAM Annual Conference in Harare, Zimbabwe, from November 20-22, 2026.
- Public recognition at the CIMAM Annual Conference, including an invitation for the awardees to present their practice to the international professional community.
- Visibility across CIMAM’s digital platforms, social media, and global press.
- Participation in CIMAM webinars and knowledge-sharing programs throughout the year.
- Inclusion in a dedicated section on CIMAM’s website, serving as a resource for best practices in modern and contemporary art museums.
CIMAM Institutional Members are invited to participate in informational sessions designed to support their understanding of the criteria and nomination process for OMPA 2026.
Book a meeting with the CIMAM Executive Office
We encourage all CIMAM Institutional members and professionals in the field of Modern and Contemporary Art Museums to participate in the nomination process. By recognizing outstanding museum practices, we foster collaboration and inspire colleagues with innovative approaches to addressing the most pressing and relevant issues of our time.