Elvira Dyangani Ose

Academic and Professional Background

I want to highlight my involvement with the Thought Council at Fondazione Prada (2015-2022) and the Lisa Wihelmsen Art Award (2019–ongoing), as a founding board member. These opportunities enabled me to collaborate with my colleagues and institutional leadership to develop both projects, focusing on showcasing specific projects and artists that reflected the institution’s vision and core values through our programming. At Fondazione Prada, I contributed to transforming a project-based initiative into a culturally diverse institution, where the permanent collection and interdisciplinary projects could interconnect. After serving as Curator (2011–2014), I was invited by Frances Morris to join her as one of the advisors to the Tate Modern Advisory Council (2018–2021). This position enabled me to gain a deeper understanding of the institution’s history and to share my expertise in support of Tate’s ongoing efforts to diversify its programming, team, and overall strategy. I have been the director at MACBA since 2021, following my role as artistic director and curator in London, Lubumbashi, and New York. At MACBA, I spearheaded a transformation focused on reconnecting with our neighbourhood. I developed a strategic plan for 2030 centred on social, economic, and environmental sustainability, in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. This plan introduced a new organizational structure and fostered a collaborative internal culture while bringing in a new generation of curators, educators, and managers. My leadership prioritizes well-being and empowerment, aiming to build a thriving institutional community that includes our team and the diverse communities we engage with.

Motivation statement explaining what encourages you to join the Board of CIMAM

Over the past twenty years, my academic (I’ll defend my doctoral dissertation in September 2025) and curatorial interests have intertwined in dynamic ways. Studying and observing institutional practices, which shaped my development as a researcher and lecturer, have been crucial for implementing managerial and strategic projects at the art centers and museums where I have worked, both as a director and as an advisor. Joining the CIMAM’s Board presents an opportunity to conduct in-depth research on redefining methodological museum governance, advance specific educational experiments, and highlight stories that are often marginalized in museums’ narratives and collections. If community-building and participation have led the museum’s prerogatives in more recent decades. Today, a key issue is the consideration of the artist as a professional. As museums evolve into more experience-based spaces, where object-led strategies remain essential, till, not the sole focus, how we connect with artistic labor becomes crucial for the future definition of the museum. CIMAM’s Museum Watch Groups have frequently examined these matters, providing critical insights and networking opportunities that can advocate for artists’ rights globally. The upcoming edition of Mundiacult in Barcelona, hosted in part at MACBA, will focus on these topics from a methodological standpoint. The consolidation of these ideas and understanding of the need for an active approach to our role, as museum leaders, and the unique position of CIMAM within our field, motivates my candidacy for the Board.

Explain how you see the role of CIMAM in advancing contemporary art museums globally

CIMAM finds itself in a unique position amid the complexities of the global cultural, economic, educational, and political landscape. The decline of the traditional epistemological framework that once defined the museum as an institution presents an opportunity for CIMAM’s leadership to collaborate with ICOM and other like-minded initiatives to create a new institutional model. In this context, CIMAM's role is distinct. It possesses the professional expertise needed to reevaluate the history of museums and the capacity to implement change within these institutions. Additionally, CIMAM has both the responsibility and the independence that few other organizations have, allowing it to embrace the rich narratives and mutual learning that arise from the interconnected fields of art, museology, and scholarship.

I am excited about how CIMAM's role and structure can create platforms for engaging with global artists, curators, and cultural agents in the broadest and most inclusive sense. Throughout my career, I have been committed to amplifying underrepresented voices, expanding dominant narratives beyond a single perspective, and incorporating counter-cultural viewpoints. I will passionately support CIMAM on that front, whether I’m part of the Board or not. I am genuinely hopeful about the future and the significant impact we can achieve together.

How would you help CIMAM advocate for museums in areas such as funding, membership engagement, and strategic initiatives to achieve its mission?

I have a strong track record as a senior leader in cultural and artistic institutions, where I’ve focused on strengthening programs and reinventing strategies with diverse colleagues in the matters addressed above. At CIMAM, I aim to echo the leadership of former MACBA directors during moments of critical transformations. I’m committed to exploring issues of governance, DEIA, and financial engineering, as well as best practices in the museum sector. For example, one strategic initiative could be to develop a policy/manifesto that addresses the ongoing challenges artists face, including recognition, fair compensation, and ethical working conditions. Despite improvements, an international framework for best practices in the visual arts remains absent. By collaborating with CIMAM’s Museum Watch, I aim to contribute to the development of initiatives that connect national and international efforts to create standardized tools and recommendations for the artistic sector, promoting transparency and respect among institutions and artists.

This initiative will draw from existing key references, including but not limited to:

1. Codes of best practice from the Plataforma Assembleària d’Artistes de Catalunya (PAAC) for fair remuneration and open calls.
2. The [contra]Panorama project at MACBA, promoting ethical relationships in artistic ecosystems.
3. a-n. The Artists’ Information Company in the UK establishes professional standards focusing on fair compensation.
4. Artists at Risk (AR), aiding persecuted artists around the world.
5. The Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos (OEI), bridging cultural policies and plural methodologies of local implementation across Iberoamerica.

If elected as a Board Member, what would be your main objectives or areas of action for the next three years for CIMAM to contribute to the sustainable development of the modern and contemporary art museum sector?

I anticipate that my role as a part of the Board will continue to focus on the innovative environments that artists are cultivating, particularly in the context of Global South cities where conventional institutions are often absent. The exploration of shared public and private spaces, along with the soundscapes and performances that arise from tradition, serves to create enriching communal contexts. Formal artistic spaces, such as museums and cultural institutions, could greatly benefit from the adoption of radical methodologies. These approaches have enabled endeavors such as artist collectives, artist-led workshops, and counter-cultural institutions to operate as incubators for community and professional platforms, becoming instrumental in fostering artistic scenes in contexts often viewed as peripheral.

With that in mind, I will lead the content committee for the upcoming Annual Conference in Harare, appointed by Director Chikukwa. My recent research in Livingstone, Harare, and Mutare, in preparation for the encounters—including panels, workshops, and other activities—will play a vital role in celebrating the congress in 2026. This effort aims to highlight the critical contributions of African arts and agents in shaping our field, echoing the First International Congress of African Culture held at the National Gallery in 1962. In today’s sociopolitical climate, which threatens the independence and freedom of speech of our institutions, I am eager to explore how we can learn from environments where political representation and its reflection in educational, economic, and cultural platforms are not always guaranteed, and where transformation is driven by people daily.