How was CIMAM 2024 in Los Angeles?
Sustainable Futures: How? Where? For Whom?
The 56th CIMAM 2024 Annual Conference was held in Los Angeles, United States of America on December 6-8, hosted by The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the Hammer Museum at UCLA, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
Watch the 4-minute summary video of CIMAM's 2024 Annual Conference.
→ Read the CIMAM 2024 Conference Report.
→ Read the reports and articles of CIMAM 2024 Travel Grant Beneficiaries.
→ Watch the speakers' presentations on CIMAM TV.
→ Re-visit the CIMAM 2024 Conference Booklet.
A total of 277 modern and contemporary art curators and museum professionals from 50 different countries attended the CIMAM 2024 Annual Conference.
The production of the 2024 Annual Conference was made possible thanks to the lead sponsorship from the Getty Foundation and the generous support from the Terra Foundation for American Art. Additional support for the conference was provided by the Perenchio Foundation and the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation. Hauser & Wirth, Getty Foundation, Jarl Mohn, and East West Bank provided hosting sponsorship.
The post-conference tour to the desert was made possible through the support of Desert X, Sunnylands Center & Gardens, High Desert Test Sites, Visit Greater Palm Springs, Palm Springs Art Museum, and Tamarisk Country Club.
- MOCA, Hammer, and LACMA
- Getty Foundation
- Terra Foundation for American Art
- Perenchio Foundation
- Helen Frankenthaler Foundation
- Hauser & Wirth
- Jarl Mohn
- East West Bank
- Desert X
- Sunnylands Center & Gardens
- High Desert Test Sites
- Visit Greater Palm Springs
- Palm Springs Art Museum
- Members of the Tamarisk Country Club.
The three-day event fostered a progressive conversation, delving into the different inspiring sustainable perspectives presented by 21 guest speakers who addressed key questions that amplified the notion of sustainability: How do museums navigate the tensions of the ongoing cycles of crisis and change? What does it mean in the context of art institutions? How are museums putting it into practice? And how do we acknowledge different contexts, cultures, and economies?
Through three keynote speeches, sixteen case studies, and three panel discussions, the conference brought together museum directors, curators, artists, architects, and other visionaries from around the world. It departed from the realization of the social role museums play as part of a city's urban fabric and natural landscape.
Participants explored the economic and financial sustainability of cultural infrastructures and analyzed today's challenges in the two predominant models: the US non-profit system and the publicly funded European institutions, as well as new models being forged by artists, foundations, and philanthropists, centering direct community engagement and social change.
Individual panels highlighted the importance of Indigenous worldviews in debates about the intersection of art, ecology, and practice, and provided spaces to reflect on community-based sustainability, stewardship versus ownership, and the intellectual and philosophical frameworks of what a museum can be.
The conference program consisted of 21 speakers and 3 panel discussions with respondents.
The program on Day 2 included the Interlude Presentation – Artist Talk by Walid Raad: Two drops per heartbeat: A free-fall in the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection.
DAY 1: Friday, December 6
Introduction by Clara Kim, CIMAM Board Member, Chair of the 2024 Contents Committee, Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.
→ Keynote: Mark Bradford, Artist, Los Angeles. Arts Education and the Potential for Impact.
Session #1
What is our Agency? The Contemporary Art Museum and Climate Crisis
With presentations by:
- J Fiona Ragheb, Deputy Director for Curatorial and Exhibitions, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles.
- Kelsey Shell, Environmental & Sustainability Strategist, MOCA, Los Angeles.
- Daniel Vega, Deputy Director for Exhibitions and Conservation, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao.
- Cecilia Winter, Project Specialist, Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles.
- John Kenneth Paranada, Curator of Art and Climate Change, Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia, Norwich.
Moderated by Suzanne Cotter, CIMAM Board Member, Member of the 2024 Contents Committee, and Director, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), Sydney.
Session #2
Sustainable Ecosystems: Rethinking Museums within the Urban and Social Realm
With presentations by:
- Michael Maltzan, Principal, Michael Maltzan Architecture, Inc., Los Angeles.
- Andrea Lissoni, Artistic Director, Haus der Kunst, Munich.
- Sara Zewde, Principal, Studio Zewde, New York.
Moderated by Chus Martinez, CIMAM Board Member, and Director, Institute Art Gender Nature, Basel, Switzerland.
Respondents
→ Aileen Burns and Johan Lundh, Directors, Remai Modern, and Apsara DiQuinzio, Director, Nevada Museum of Art.
DAY 2: Saturday, December 9
Introduction by Kitty Scott, CIMAM Board Member, Member of the Contents Committee, and Strategic Director, Fogo Island Arts / Shorefast, Toronto.
→ Keynote: Zita Cobb, CEO of Shorefast, Co-Founder, Shorefast, Ottawa / Joe Batt's Arm. Fogo Island: The Possibility of a Place.
Session #3
Economies of Sustainability: Ethics, Values, and Resilience
With presentations by:
- Manuel Segade, Director, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (MNCARS), Madrid.
- Mai Abu ElDahab, Director, Mophradat, Brussels.
- Ibrahim Mahama, Artist and Founder, Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art (SCCA) and Red Clay Studio, Ghana, in conversation with Yesomi Umolu, Arts Leader and Curator, London.
- Andrea Fraser, Professor, UCLA, Los Angeles.
Moderated by Aram Moshayedi, Member of the 2024 Contents Committee, and Interim Chief Curator, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.
Respondents
→ Deepanjana Klein, Director of Acquisitions & Development, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, and Eungie Joo, Curator and Head of Contemporary Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).
DAY 3: Sunday 8 December
Introduction by Joselina Cruz, CIMAM Board Member, Member of the Contents Committee, and Director/Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), Manila.
→ Keynote: Candice Hopkins, Executive Director and Chief Curator, Forge Projects, Taghkanic. The Potential in Not Being a Museum.
Session #4
Sustainable Communities: Indigenous Perspectives and Worldviews
With presentations by:
- Edgar Calel, Artist, San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala.
- Pablo José Ramírez, Curator, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.
- Taloi Havini, Artist, Brisbane.
- Djon Mundine, Artist, Curator, Activist and Writer, Australia.
Moderated by Rita Gonzalez, Member of the 2024 Contents Committee, and Terri and Michael Smooke Curator and Department Head of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles.
Respondents
→ Michelle LaVallee, Director, Indigenous Ways Department and Curatorial Initiatives, National Gallery of Canada, and Stephanie Rosenthal, Director, Director Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project, Guggenheim Museum Foundation.
Visit the Conference Booklet available at cimam.org including the speakers' bios and abstracts, the conference schedule, information about the conference hosts, and sponsors, the venues visited, and the attendees who attended the Annual Conference in LA.
During CIMAM's General Assembly at the 56th Annual Conference, held on December 8, CIMAM announced the three recipients of its fourth edition of the Outstanding Museum Practice Award (OMPA). Istanbul Museum of Modern Art (Turkey), the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and The Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art in Kyiv, (Ukraine) were named OMPA 2024 winners for their progressive models and practices that can inspire museums worldwide.
Read the OMPA 2024 Announcement
Moreover, Suhanya Raffel, President of CIMAM and Director of the M+ in Hong Kong, together with Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, President of the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, announced Turin (Italy) as the new city to host CIMAM's 57th Annual Conference. The next edition will be co-hosted by Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Fondazione Torino Musei, and Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, and will be supported by Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT.
CIMAM 2024 Content Committee
For more than one year, the 2024 Contents Committee met regularly to conceive and design the theme, format, and list of speakers of the CIMAM 2024 Annual Conference consisting of seven professionals, from the hosting institutions, and the CIMAM Board:
- Clara Kim (Chair of the Contents Committee), CIMAM Board Member, Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.
- Suzanne Cotter, CIMAM Board Member, Director, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney.
- Joselina Cruz, CIMAM Board Member, Director/Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) Manila.
- Amanda de la Garza, CIMAM Board Member, Artistic Deputy Director, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (MNCARS), Madrid.
- Rita Gonzalez, CIMAM Board Member, Terri and Michael Smooke Curator and Department Head Contemporary Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles.
- Aram Moshayedi, Interim Chief Curator, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.
- Kitty Scott, Strategic Director, Fogo Island Arts / Shorefast, Toronto.
The afternoon visits included 18 different venues and tours from which participants could choose according to their preference and optional tours to 18 studio visits.
The venues included in the conference program were MOCA Grand, REDCAT, Broad, The Brick, ICA, VPAM, Eames House, Schindler House, Hollyhock House/LAMAG, David Horvitz’s Garden, Art + Practice, Crenshaw Dairy Mart, CAAM, Autry, JPL/Brand, MOLAA, Hauser & Wirth, and the Getty Center.
This year, the conference organizers offered a special add-on program of studio visits on Monday 9 December with a select group of leading artists working in Los Angeles today. CIMAM 2024 offered complimentary shuttle bus transportation to four tours including the following artists’ studios: Rodney McMillian, Charles Gaines, Joey Terrill, Elliott Hundley, Paul McCarthy, Andrea Bowers, Tala Madani, Nathaniel Mellors, Kelly Akashi, Christina Quarles, Todd Gray, Kyungmi Shin, Rosha Yaghmai, Analia Saban, Lita Albuquerque, Judith F. Baca, and Alison Saar.
In 2024, 34 contemporary art curators, researchers, and museum professionals from 20 different countries were awarded support to attend the Annual Conference.
CIMAM is deeply grateful to the institutions and individuals who have made possible the 2024 Travel Grant Program:
- The Getty Foundation supported 13 professionals from Emerging Markets and Developing Economies. It has supported 306 since 2005.
- Saastamoinen Foundation supported 3 professionals from Finland. It has supported 6 since 2023.
- Mercedes Vilardell supported 2 professionals from Africa. She has supported 12 since 2021.
- Aimée Labarrere de Servitje supported 3 professionals from Mexico. She has supported 5 since 2023.
- Eloisa Haudenschild supported 2 professionals from Emerging Markets and Developing Economies. She has supported 4 since 2023.
- Fernando Zobel de Ayala supported 2 professionals from the Philippines. He has supported 3 since 2023.
- OCA – Office for Contemporary Art Norway supported 3 professionals from Norway. It has supported 11 since 2020.
- SAHA supported 2 Turkish professionals. It has supported 7 since 2022.
- Spanish Support provided funds for 2 professionals from Spain. It has supported 10 since 2021.
- The Consulate General of Brazil in Los Angeles supported 1 professional from Brazil.
- The Byucksan Cultural Foundation supported 1 from South Korea. It has supported 11 since 2018.
A group of 60 conference delegates attended the two-day post-tour program to the Desert.
The Post-Conference Tour program consisted of visits to Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, and Joshua Tree in the High Desert – a two-hour drive from downtown LA – allowing conference participants to experience the unique desert landscape of Southern California as well as ruminate on our place on earth in relationship to extreme climate conditions and delicate ecosystems.
Visits included a preview of a Desert X installation at Sunnylands Center & Gardens. The visit continued with a private visit to Palm Springs Art Museum including their PST ART exhibition, and the iconic modernist architect Albert Frey’s Aluminaire House, Joshua Tree National Park, High Desert Test Sites, with special tours of A-Z West – a compound and artwork by Andrea Zittel – and tours to Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum, to the Institute of Mentalphysics, and Boxoprojects.
CIMAM Annual Conference Carbon Footprint
GHG emissions from the CIMAM Annual Conference in Los Angeles have been quantified using the Gallery Climate Coalition Calculator, considering the event dates and activities across three venues in Los Angeles from December 6th to 8th, 2024.
CIMAM identified the primary sources of emissions associated with the event, leading to a total carbon footprint of 573.05 tons of CO₂e.
While flights have the highest impact, in-person gatherings remain essential to CIMAM's mission of fostering critical discussion, knowledge exchange, and debate within the modern and contemporary art museum sector. Bringing together museum professionals in different cities each year also strengthens artistic activity, activates networks, and consolidates relationships between institutions and cultural stakeholders.
→ CIMAM 2024 Conference Report
Read this interview with Suhanya Raffel for ASEF culture360, about the CIMAM Annual Conference in Los Angeles
"‘Sustainable Futures: How, When, For Whom?’ This topic stands as one of the most important issues facing humanity, including our cultural sector."
Read the interview here