International Call for 2025 Travel Grant Applications
CIMAM Opens the International Call for 2025 Travel Grant Applications
Celebrating 20 years of supporting global modern and contemporary art museum professionals.
Barcelona, 26 May 2025 — CIMAM (International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art) opens the International Call for Travel Grant Applications for its 2025 Annual Conference, to be held in Turin, Italy, from 28 to 30 November 2025.
Application deadline: 16 June 2025
International Open Call for Travel Grant Applications
About the CIMAM 2025 Annual Conference
Titled Enduring Game: Expanding New Models of Museum Making, with the guiding mantra Of Necessity Virtue, this year’s conference invites museum professionals to come together in a spirit of critical inquiry and collective imagination to explore the evolving role of contemporary art institutions in an increasingly complex global context.
CIMAM 2025 Annual Conference Abstract
Celebrating 20 Years of the CIMAM Travel Grant Program
Launched in 2005, the CIMAM Travel Grant Program has supported over 350 museum professionals from emerging and developing economies, thanks to the generous support of our funding organizations and individuals, with the Getty Foundation as a key supporter of this program since its inception.
By enabling participation in CIMAM’s global community, this program fosters professional development, international exchange, and diversity in museum leadership.
The CIMAM Travel Grant Program aims to enhance the curatorial and research development of directors, curators, and museum professionals dedicated to modern and contemporary art, who reside in countries with emerging and developing economies. The program promotes their representation, visibility, and participation in the international museum community, in line with CIMAM’s commitment to fostering equity, inclusion, and knowledge exchange.
What Does the Grant Cover?
Selected grantees will receive:
- Full conference registration and access to all sessions, visits, and events.
- Travel expenses (economy class round-trip and train ticket).
- Accommodation for four nights in Turin.
- CIMAM membership for 2026–28.
- Additional benefits for Getty Foundation grantees, including an extended stay and exclusive visits.
Eligibility Criteria
- Open to directors and curators of modern and contemporary art museums, as well as researchers and independent curators specializing in contemporary art theory, who need financial support to attend CIMAM’s Annual Conference.
- Candidates must reside in countries with emerging and developing economies - C, D, E of this list – unless differently specified by the Travel Grant Funder.
- CIMAM's eligibility criteria for Travel Grants is aligned with ICOM's membership structure by using the same criteria by country, according to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) of every country.
- Some funders specify regional focus (see below)
- Applicants should not be involved in any kind of commercial or for-profit activity.
Read carefully the full Eligibility Criteria & Selection Process
List of eligible countries (Group C, D, E)
How to Apply
Applications are open from May 26 until June 16, 2025.
Candidates are invited to complete an online application form and include:
- Short résumé
- Motivation statement
- List of exhibitions and publications produced in the last 5 years
- Two letters or email messages of recommendation in support of the candidates. They should be issued by museum professionals or scholars who are familiar with their work and/or qualifications. Applications and recommendation letters should be written in English.
*No need to submit letters for current CIMAM Members (2023-25), they can provide the names and contact details of 2 referees.
CIMAM 2025 Travel Grant Funders
CIMAM's 2025 Travel Grant Program is supported thanks to the generous and essential support of its founders:
- Getty Foundation, supports professionals residing in emerging and developing economies in groups C, D, and E. Grant funds from the Getty Foundation may not be used to support registration fees and other expenses not ordinarily incident to travel for Getty-sponsored participants who are Iranian, North Korean, or Syrian nationals or to those from the Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. At this time, Getty funds may be used to support Cuban nationals under select circumstances. Some restrictions apply.
- Saastamoinen Foundation, supports professionals, residing in emerging and developing economies in groups C, D, and E, with a focus on Africa.
- Teresa A. L. Bulgheroni, supports professionals from Latin American residing in countries of groups C, D, and E.
- Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (CPPC), supports professionals residing in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and their diasporas in groups C, D, and E.
- Mercedes Vilardell, supports professionals residing on the African continent.
- Aimée Labarrere de Servitje, supports professionals residing in Mexico.
- Eloisa Haudenschild, supports professionals residing in emerging and developing economies in groups C, D, and E.
- Fernando Zobel de Ayala, supports professionals residing in the Philippines.
- Chitra Talwar, supports professionals residing in India.
Key Dates and Information
- Call for Applications: 26 May – 16 June 2025
- Evaluation & Selection: 18 – 30 June 2025
- Notification of Beneficiaries: 7 – 31 July 2025
- Public Announcement: 15 September 2025
- Questions at: travelgrants@cimam.org
Other relevant information: