Interview to Alfred Pacquement by Mami Kataoka
Alfred Pacquement, Independent curator, Paris, France by Mami Kataoka, Director, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan.
How do you think the museum of modern and contemporary would have to change for a sustainable future?
It is hard to predict the future but the arrival of new actors, a redistribution of forces, including the growing power of the art market, means the museum has to be very vigilant in maintaining its educative and independent mission. The discussion on restitution is probably one major issue in the next decade. Africa is not only a major creative continent but also beginning to have good museums infrastructures. China is opening new museums every month. This is certainly redistributing the map.
In the future communities of the museum of modern and contemporary art, particularly after the pandemic, what role could CIMAM play?
CIMAM has a crucial role to play to extend an international network of museum professionals all over the world, find new players, and bring discussions concerning all these actors. We are going through this health crisis, which will come to an end hopefully soon. Museums will survive, but new practices might appear, for instance, activities conceived for the internet. The exceptional situation we have faced has enforced some necessary evolution. CIMAM is and will remain one of the actors of the debate, one major site of discussions and information. I am impressed by the improvement of the organization, in terms of internationalization, parity, and information on the activities through new media.
→ You can find the complete interview and go deeper into the subject in the book: Museums from the Inside: 60 Years of CIMAM.
Available on Hatje Cantz website. CIMAM members can purchase the book directly through the office at a special price of €20 + shipping expenses. If you are interested, please contact: members@cimam.org
Museums from the Inside: 60 Years of CIMAM
On July 5, 1962, the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art (CIMAM) was founded by 23 European members at the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague (The Netherlands) under the original French acronym CIMAM – Comité de l'ICOM pour les Musées d'Art Moderne (ICOM Committee for Museums of Modern Art).
Sixty years later, this organization celebrates its anniversary with the publication of this book, in which Saskia Bos has conducted extensive research on the 60-year history of CIMAM, highlighting the historical context, the actors, and the most relevant topics discussed during the first half of the 53 editions of the CIMAM Annual Conferences. Mami Kataoka has analyzed and commented on the last 30 years highlighting how CIMAM has become a truly global international committee. This research, accompanied by a series of 21 interviews with former board chairs, donors, and curators, is now available on Hatje Cantz website.
CIMAM members can purchase the book directly through the office at a special price of €20 + shipping expenses. If you are interested, please contact: members@cimam.org