Museum Watch Actions

• Two alarming cases of bad practices by the administration in regional museums in Spain: CAAC, Seville and IVAM, Valencia

  

  4th March, Barcelona. CIMAM's Museum Watch is very concerned with recent developments in Spain regarding two important regional contemporary art museums and their professionals. Both cases involve a regression in terms of codes of good practice for the cultural sector.

• Cancellation and censorship in times of war

  

  15 January 2024. The Museum Watch committee is following with concern the dreadful situation in Gaza and its repercussions in the worlds of art and culture—more specifically, its consequences for artists and curators who express their support for the Palestinian people. In this time of conflict and crisis, CIMAM would like to stress the importance of preserving the museum as a space for the free artistic expression.

• To the public opinion

  

  26 October 2023. The Museum Watch Committee has been paying close attention to the current situation regarding the exhibition of the artist Tania Bruguera at the Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende (MSSA) in Santiago, Chile. Freedom of expression and speech for artistic projects are basic principles and a necessary working frame for cultural institutions. It guarantees artistic freedom, even when the institution does not necessarily support or agree with the position taken by an artist or an artistic project.

• Revisiting the trajectories of Gary Garrels and Nancy Spector

  

  13 October 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly has shed light on the systemic manifestations of all kinds of racism and discrimination around the world. In 2020 the brutal murder of George Floyd ignited a worldwide outcry for social justice and anti-racism that is long overdue. In the climate of those days, the Museum Watch Committee was informed of a series of cases in the United States in which senior professionals were accused of racism and promptly compelled to resign.

• Questions as a Base to Learn and Teach

  

  22 September 2023. During the past few years Museum Watch has been attentive to exceptional changes that are transforming museums and galleries into more open, diverse, accessible and inclusive institutions. At the same time we want to reflect on and speak about some difficult questions and situations that have arisen in this moment.

• Signs of Troubling Times: Recent Developments at the State Tretyakov Gallery

  

  13 March 2023. While spirituality is one of the key lines of modern and contemporary art, art will always resonate with the society in which it acts and with its values. Art can never be an instrument for politicians and regimes to steer societies.

• On the recent situation and debate around the National Gallery of Canada

  

  18 January 2023. CIMAM is looking forward to the concrete strategic plans of the board and the new director that balances the diverse axes of the NGC, addresses tensions between national and international focusses, critically engages the blurring of boundaries between fine art and contemporary art, and finds a decolonial narrative in between the patriotic citizens of 1880 and the indigenous people.

• Kurt Schwitters Merzbau

  

  14 November 2022. The Board of CIMAM (2020-22) is responding to the current sensitive situation regarding the future of the Merz Barn and in the context of its potential sale by auction.

• A set of Governance Clauses for Museum Ethics to protect and support museums and their staff

  

  3 November 2022. These clauses are intended to address the growing vulnerabilities museums face in relation to interference, increasingly political, from their ‘Founders’ or ‘Governing Bodies’ which can undermine the Museum’s mission and values and their ability to operate with the curatorial independence required to create an open space in civil society.

• INTERCOM and CIMAM introduce the Museum Watch Governance Management Project

  

  3 May 2022. CIMAM is pleased to share the report Museum Watch Governance Management Project convened and led by INTERCOM and CIMAM and produced thanks to an ICOM Special Project Grant to help the museum community address governance management challenges more efficiently.

• CIMAM expresses its concern over the dismissal of Jaroslaw Suchan as director of Muzeum Sztuki in Lodz

  

  29 April 2022. CIMAM expresses its concern over the dismissal of Jaroslaw Suchan as director of Muzeum Sztuki in Lodz, making public the letters sent on February 23 to the Polish Ministry of Culture and issuing a new statement.

• A Courageous Action by the staff of Moderna galerija, Ljubljana

  

  10 March 2022. We share the letter by the staff of Moderna galerija call for the dismissal of the current Director as a gesture of solidarity and support with the staff and to share with our members the details of this critical situation as it unfolds.

• Statement on the Forced Resignation of Alistair Hudson

  

  2 March 2022. The Museum Watch Committee (MWC) expresses our deep concern regarding the forced removal of Alistair Hudson from his post as Director of the Whitworth Art Gallery, an institution under the University of Manchester.

• Anti-war petitions and resources in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine

  

  March 2022. List of practical resources for Ukrainian culture professionals and civil society and anti-war petitions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

• A Message from CIMAM in support to Ukrainian museum professionals

  

  25 February 2022. CIMAM expresses its absolute condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine by military forces from the present Russian regime. We ask all members of CIMAM to actively consider ways they can act to show their solidarity with our colleagues.

• About the recent developments in relation to Enrico Lunghi’s legal challenge

  

  19 January 2022. CIMAM congratulates Enrico for his perseverance in very difficult circumstances and welcomes this public vindication of a respected and valued member of the museum community in a time when many of our colleagues remain vulnerable to poor governance and political interference.

• A case relevant for the current debate around freedom of speech

  

  23 September 2021. The National Coalition Against Censorship, a United States-based organization, is disseminating a letter supporting Cai Quo-Qiang and Sandra Ramos, two eminent members of the international artistic community who are currently confronted with exclusion from an art event in Florida by local policymakers

• CIMAM Statement in relation to the critical situation facing artists and art professionals in Afghanistan

  

  30 August 2021. CIMAM wishes to express its deep concern about the vulnerable position of artists and art professionals in Afghanistan and to draw attention to the need for their plight to be highlighted to those Governments that are working to ensure the safety of those at critical risk from the Taliban.

• Statement on recent developments at MACBA

  

  23 July 2021. CIMAM’s Museum Watch Committee is deeply concerned by recent developments at MACBA, Barcelona, one of Europe’s more influential and dynamic museums.

• Turning the Gwangju Biennale into a Working Organisation: Statement on the Gwangju Biennale

  

  19 July 2021. The Museum Watch Committee (MWC) expresses its great concern regarding the resistance to the organisational reform of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, the organiser of the Gwangju Biennale.

• Statement on the Proposed Restructuring of City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi

  

  9 June 2021. The Museum Watch Committee (MWC) expresses its great concern regarding action by Experience Wellington to restructure the City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi. Experience Wellington’s plan to disestablish the roles of director and senior curator at City Gallery Wellington will destabilise the institution by reducing its ability to develop quality content necessary for a cultural institution.

• The calm and effective actions of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Koroška

  

  31 May 2021. The Museum Watch Committee commends the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Koroška for foregrounding the artists and the project’s curatorial integrity in such challenging circumstances.

• CIMAM shares the open letter from Colombian cultural workers and stands in solidarity with them.

  

  13 May 2021. SOS ARTE COLOMBIA. "Our struggle is for life". CIMAM shares the open letter from cultural workers and stands in solidarity with them.

• New political scenarios, sharpened by the pandemic, directly impact the situation of museum directors around the world

  

  PR 23 March 2021. Modern and contemporary art museums and the professionals committed to their preservation are increasingly exposed to critical situations that undermine their ability to operate with international standards of best practice.

• Why should museums remain open and operational?

  

  19 February 2021. The conclusions and examples aim to encourage and inspire modern and contemporary art museum professionals worldwide to keep their museums operational. Read the contributions from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, India, Italy, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Spain, USA.

• Trends and Dangers in the Governance Of Cultural Institutions in the European Context

  

  14 January 2021. CIMAM expresses its concern with regards to recent developments in the governance of cultural institutions across Europe. Read the full statement here.

• An ecosystem in danger: the Mexican museums

  

  10 December 2020. The Mexican government has started to dismantle the revered public institutions that have been developed over many generations. CIMAM is deeply concerned that the actions of the current government in Mexico will lead to the destruction of these important cultural institutions.

• A Governance Question in South-Africa

  

  3 December 2020. With growing concern, the Museum Watch Committee has followed the case of our colleague Ernestine White-Mifetu, director of the William Humphreys Art Gallery (WHAG) in Kimberley, now suspended from her functions in the museum.

• La Paz: International Museum Best Cases in Danger

  

  29 June 2020. CIMAM is deeply concerned about the future of MNA and MUSEF following the forced resignation of two Directors recognised internationally for their visionary leadership.

• Belgrade: Leading Institution Damaged by Local Politics

  

  18 March 2020. CIMAM is deeply concerned by what appears to be an abandonment of good practices in the acquisition of competent leadership, and the favoring of improvised solutions destabilizing an institution fundamental to the cultural identity of the country.

• Aichi Triennale re-opened thanks to the artists’ and curators’ efforts

  

  31 January 2020. CIMAM would like to note the commendable actions of the artists, supported by the curators, who effectively worked to restore the autonomy of the Triennale from political pressure, securing the reopening of the exhibition.

• Critical financial situation at the Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR). CIMAM urges the City Government to continue its support

  

  11 January 2020. Eleven senior staff members were dismissed and all one hundred employees received a prior letter announcing their possible dismissal on November 2019.

• A key institution for Polish cultural heritage of post-Cold War era under threat

  

  27 November 2019. CIMAM appeals for the organisation of a transparent jury with a mixture of Polish and international professionals, based upon clearly-established institutional aims formulated by politics, that would allow for the selection of the best candidate, and equip him or her with public legitimacy.

• CIMAM questions the decision of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs to withhold the funding granted to the Aichi Triennale 2019

  

  10 October 2019. CIMAM is hopeful that the decision to withhold funding is a result of a misunderstanding between the parties involved and calls on the Agency for Cultural Affairs to restore its grant to the Aichi Triennial 2019.

• Deep concern at cancellation of the exhibition “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’”

  

  27 August 2019. CIMAM is greatly concerned about the 2019 Aichi Triennale’s decision to cancel the exhibition After ‘Freedom of Expression?'.

• CIMAM expresses its deep concern at Ralf Beil's termination of contract by the Board of Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg

  

  4 March 2019. The manner with which Ralf Beil's contract was terminated it raises serious questions about the professional ethics guiding the governing body of the Museum.

• CIMAM statement about Osman Kavala and Turkish cultural professionals

  

  11 January 2019. The civil society activist and philanthropist Osman Kavala has been held in prison in Turkey for over a year now, one of the many public intellectuals and cultural figures targeted following the attempted coup in July 2016.

• About the Greek National Museum of Contemporary Art

  

  21 December 2018. CIMAM is concerned about the lack of transparency in relation to the governance of EMST. A museum needs a clear framework through which the relationship between the government, Board, executive and staff is managed.

• Okwui Enwezor

  

  December 2018. The Board of CIMAM acknowledges Okwui Enwezor for the outstanding program he presented at Haus der Kunst in Münich and expresses its deep concern by the way in which this outstanding relationship was ended. The case was raised at the recent CIMAM conference in Stockholm as it is one of the many recent examples of ruptures between governing bodies and directors of contemporary art institutions.

• Catherine de Zegher

  

  November 2018. In its capacity as the international association for Museums and Collections of Modern and Contemporary art, and as an affiliate of ICOM, CIMAM wishes to register its deep concern at the treatment of Catherine de Zegher in her capacity as Director of the Museum of Fine Arts (MSK) in Ghent.

• Beatrix Ruf

  

  November 2018. The Board of CIMAM congratulates Beatrix Ruf, former director of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam with the positive outcome of the investigations into alleged conflicts of interest.

• Letter from Enrico Lunghi to CIMAM Members and Board

  

  November 2017

• CIMAM statement on the US government sanctions against Iran and Syria

  

  November 2017. The CIMAM Board deplores the fact that the sanctions are preventing museum professionals in Iran from taking part in global discussions about museum practice.

• About the ‘Art and China after 1989: Theater of the World’ show at the Guggenheim Museum

  

  November 2017. Following the withdrawal of works from the ‘Art and China after 1989: Theater of the World’ exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, the CIMAM board has been considering an appropriate response.

• Statement of the CIMAM board on South Korean Government’s blacklist of artists

  

  March 2017. The board of CIMAM is deeply concerned to hear of the blacklist of artists that has come to light during the current investigations into government corruption in South Korea.

• Joint Statement Regarding the Impact of the U.S. Immigration Ban on Artistic Freedom

  

  February 2017. Today, more than thirty cultural institutions and human rights organizations around the world, including international arts, curators’ and critics’ associations, organizations protecting free speech rights, as well as U.S. based performance, arts and creative freedom organizations and alliances, issued a joint statement opposing United States President Donald J. Trump’s immigration ban. Read the full statement below.

• CIMAM asks American University to refrain from censorship

  

  January 2017. The CIMAM board asks Neil Kerwin, as president of American University, to reinstate the sculpture and for it to remain in place until 30th of April as originally agreed with the artist.‎

• In support of Enrico Lunghi

  

  November 2016. We artists, curators, collectors, galleries and friends of the arts would like to publicly express our sympathy to Enrico Lunghi. For many years he has been harrassed by his critics in Luxembourg, who could not stomach his generous and unconditional support of contemporary art and begrudged his international recognition. Today he is resigning from his position as director of MUDAM. Everywhere we turn, people who are fighting for free and ambitious art are coming under increasing pressure.

• Petition against the closure of Museum Morsbroich

  

  March 2015. CIMAM wishes to express its support to the Museum Morsbroich in Leverkusen by sharing the petition against its closure and encouraging CIMAM members to sign.

• A public appeal for the dismissal of the Minister of Culture of Croatia

  

  February 2016. The recently established Croatian Government appointed Mr. Zlatko Hasanbegović as minister of culture. Yet he has no experience in the cultural sector and he publicly promotes extreme political views.

• Call on the Saudi authorities to release Ashraf Fayadh

  

  November 2015. We, the undersigned organisations, all dedicated to the value of creative freedom, are writing to express our grave concern that Ashraf Fayadh has been sentenced to death for apostasy.

• CIMAM supports Walid Raad, Andrew Ross and Ashok Sukumaran after the recent ban on their entry to the UAE

  

  May 2015. In recent weeks, The UAE authorities have refused visas to or denied entry and deported a number of artists and academics including Andrew Ross and Ashok Sukumaran.

• CIMAM supports Tania Bruguera

  

  April 2015. CIMAM wants to express its deep concern for the situation of legal vulnerability that Tania Bruguera is currently facing in Havana, following the artist’s initiative in December 2014 to re-stage her performance Tatlin’s Whisper on Havana’s Revolution Square, giving people access to an open microphone for one minute.

• CIMAM supports Hedwig Saxenhuber and Georg Schöllhammer, curators of Kiev’s biennale

  

  March 2015. CIMAM wishes to express its support to Hedwig Saxenhuber and Georg Schöllhammer and their team in their efforts to hold the biennial despite the withdrawal of Mystetskyi Arsenale, which was supposed to serve as key organizer and main venue.

• Artists for Kobanê

  

  December 2014. More than 200,000 people have been displaced by recent IS attacks in Kobanê, Shengal and many other towns and areas in northern Syria and Iraq. All proceeds of this auction will be used to meet the urgent needs of the refugees. The auction will start on Thursday, December 4th and will be open for bidding through December 18th, 2014.

• Support Manuel Borja-Villel, Director of Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid

  

  October 2014. CIMAM supports Manuel Borja-Villel, Director of Museo Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Madrid, and the entire team at the Museum in their opposition to the attempted censorship of a work of art.

• Mardin Biennial Postponed

  

  October 2014. The Third Mardin Biennial that was supposed to open on 17 October on the Syrian border, in the multi-ethnic ancient city of Mardin, Turkey, has just been postponed.

• What happened to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade?

  

  September 2014. MOCAB has been closed to visitors since 2007 for the purpose of undertaking a much-needed reconstruction which today is still far from completion.

• The Izolyatsia Cultural Center in Donetsk, Ukraine, has been occupied

  

  July 2014. On Monday morning 9th June 2014 the premises of the Izolyatsia foundation were forcibly occupied by the DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic), a terrorist organization operating illegally and without sovereign authority within the city of Donetsk.

• Support Koyo Kouoh and the Raw Material Company

  

  June 2014. After the opening of the exhibition “Precarious Imaging: Visibility and Media Surrounding African Queerness” the contemporary art center was vandalized and forced to interrupt the exhibition due to continuous pressure and acts of violence from the religious community.

• Ukrainian Museum Director Destroys Critical Painting Ahead Of President’s Visit

  

  July 2013. Natalia Zabolotna’s primary job as director of the Mystetskyi Arsenal art museum in Kyiv was to oversee the pieces under her roof.

• Turkey: Report on Osman Erden & more

  

  July 2013. Our colleague Osman Erden, Assistant Professor at the Department of Art History at Mimar Sinan University Fine Arts and President of AICA, Turkey, was detained for about six hours. He was beaten by the police before the arrest.

• Brazilian uprising

  

  July 2013. Update on current events in Brazil by Luiz Camillo Osorio. Political demonstrations have shaken Brazilian streets in the past two weeks. Driven by public transport issues, they grew dramatically and gained an amazing scale with a series of overlapping demands.

• Urgent call to Turkish government

  

  June 2013. CİMAM is very concerned about the intimidation of cultural actors and intellectuals and of independent voices in Turkey.

• Support Marta Gili, Director of Jeu de Paume

  

  June 2013. CIMAM wishes to express its support to Marta Gili, Director of Jeu de Paume, and the entire team at the Jeu de Paume who have received threats by groups and individuals who oppose the presentation of Ahlam Shibli’s work.

• QR Codes for Syria

  

  March 2013. Róza El-Hassan, artist and activist born in Budapest, of Hungarian and Syrian origin, was asked to write about the present situation of Syrian museums, artists, art spaces and cultural institutions for CIMAM's Contemporary Art Museums Watch.

• Culture Shut Down — Day of Museum Solidarity

  

  February 2013. CULTURESHUTDOWN has initiated a cultural awareness campaign in reaction to the closure of major cultural institutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

• Santralistanbul Museum Moves to Auction off its Collection

  

  February 2013. In the process of decommissioning santralistanbul, formerly one of Istanbul´s most celebrated new cultural institutions, Istanbul Bilgi University has broken faith with the art world by putting the works in its collection on the auction block.

• Museum of Latin America Art, Long Beach (MOLAA)

  

  November 2012. Ms. Fajardo-Hill was not fired. Rather, the board simply eliminated the position, along with three other full-time posts as part of a 15% cut in the budget.

• At War with Contemporary Art

  

  June 2012. By Pascal Gielen. The brusque measures taken by the Dutch neo-liberal government against the cultural sector this year have left many flabbergasted. Even more surprising, though, has been the lukewarm reaction of the sector itself.

• Hungarian Museum System – On the Threshold of Chaos

  

  February 2012. By József Mélyi. After the elections in 2010 there were many who were not only counting on the newly established government, with its two-thirds majority, committing themselves to economic reforms but also to long-awaited reforms in the culture institution system – including the public collections.