Press Kit 2024

Contact Mireia Azuara, CIMAM's Press and Communication at communication[at]cimam.org

CIMAM Press Kit 2024

CIMAM (International Committee of Museums and Collections of Modern Art) is the only global network of directors and curators of modern and contemporary art museums. Founded in The Hague in 1962, CIMAM is an Affiliated Organization of ICOM (International Council of Museums).

CIMAM functions as a not-for-profit organization led by a voluntary Board of directors and curators of modern and contemporary art museums that set the strategy and oversee the operations of the executive office based in Barcelona. CIMAM is founded by its members and the generous support of a group of patrons, and governed by a Code of Ethics published in 2023 to guide its relationships with stakeholders and fulfill its mission.

The CIMAM Board 2023-25

Suhanya Raffel, President of CIMAM, Director of M+ (Hong Kong).
Bart de Baere, Secretary General of CIMAM, General and Artistic Director M HKA—Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen (Antwerpen).
Zeina Arida, Director, Mathaf (Arab Museum of Modern Art), Doha, Qatar.
Suzanne Cotter, Director, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, Australia.
Joselina Cruz, Director/Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) Manila, Philippines.
Amanda de la Garza, Artistic Deputy Director, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (MNCARS), Madrid.
Leevi Haapala, Dean, Academy of Fine Arts, University of Arts, Helsinki, Finland.
Clara Kim, Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA.
Malgorzata Ludwisiak, Artistic Director, The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland.
Chus Martinez, Director, Art Gender Nature Institute, Basel, Switzerland.
Victoria Noorthoorn, Director, Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Agustín Pérez Rubio, Independent Curator, Madrid, Spain.
Kamini Sawhney, Independent Curator, Bangalore, India.
Kitty Scott, Strategic Director, Fogo Island Arts / Shorefast, Toronto, Canada.
Yu Jin Seng, Director (Curatorial, Research & Exhibitions), National Gallery Singapore, Singapore.

CIMAM Vision and Mission

CIMAM's vision is for a world where the cultural, social, and economic impact of modern and contemporary art museums, collections, and archives in society is widely recognized. To fulfill this vision, CIMAM's mission is to bring together directors and curators of these institutions and provide a reliable, international, and representative forum of communication to debate and share knowledge on issues of concern through key programs such as the CIMAM Annual Conference and the Rapid Response Webinars. Provide support aligned with the ethical values of the ICOM and CIMAM Code of Ethics and establish guidelines, protocols, and references of best practices through the Museum Watch Program, the Sustainability and Ecology in Museum Practice, and the Outstanding Museum Practice Award. And contribute to the sector's growth by facilitating cooperation and development through the Travel Grant Program.

The organization relies on the collective expertise of its members to advance the sector and realize the shared vision.

CIMAM's diverse membership includes museum directors and curators from around the world who contribute to the global landscape of modern and contemporary art museums. Every three years, CIMAM elects new board members to ensure a constant infusion of new perspectives and ideas, and at the end of each three years, all members are required to renew their membership.

In 2023, CIMAM published its Code of Ethics. This code establishes the ethical standards and values that guide the organization's various programs to fulfill its mission. It also outlines how CIMAM engage with its different stakeholders to achieve its shared vision.

CIMAM ended 2023 with 687 members from 81 countries, reflecting a truly global reach. Of these members, 44% hold positions as museum directors and leadership roles within museums, while 33% play crucial roles as chief curators and in various curatorial positions. 8% of CIMAM's members are independent curators.

From 2023 to 2025, every member of the CIMAM Board will actively participate in practical and strategic working groups. These groups will ensure participation and global perspectives and will shape CIMAM's annual programs. These programs aim to address visionary practices and tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing modern and contemporary museums today, including sustainability, governance, best practices, learning, exchange, cooperation, and supporting curatorial and professional development. Contributing to the debate on these issues and providing resources to address them, CIMAM aims to take a leadership role in the international museum landscape and contribute to the sector's sustainability, fostering collaboration between art institutions to drive growth.

Annual Conference Contents Committee

This is the main program of CIMAM, and the conference content committee works in conjunction with each year's host institution to identify the central theme and sub-themes for each day. The Annual Conference aims to anticipate and discuss issues related to the operation and development of contemporary art museums and collections worldwide. The Annual Conference is CIMAM's most important event and CIMAM's most relevant contribution to the sector. CIMAM's first Annual Conference took place in 1962 in The Hague. Since then, the Committee has held more than 50 conferences that have taken place in more than 30 different cities around the world.

The CIMAM 2024 Annual Conference is being thought and designed by the Content Steering Committee consisting of: Clara Kim (Chair of the Contents Committee), Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Suzanne Cotter, Director, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney; Joselina Cruz, Director/Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) Manila; Amanda de la Garza, Director, Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC), Mexico City; Rita Gonzalez, 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, and Kitty Scott, Independent Curator, Toronto.

Don’t miss anything about CIMAM 2024 in Los Angeles!

Museum Watch Program

Initiated in 2012, the Museum Watch Program serves as an advocacy program that aims to assist modern and contemporary art museum professionals in dealing with critical situations that undermine their ability to undertake their professional practice and affect a museum’s ability to operate to international standards of best practice.

The 2024-25 Museum Watch Committee consists of CIMAM Board members: Zeina Arida (Chair), Bart de Baere, Malgorzata Ludwisiak, Amanda de la Garza, Kitty Scott, Agustin Perez Rubio, and Yu Jin Seng.

Travel Grant Program

CIMAM’s Travel Grant Program supports the curatorial and research development of individuals through their attendance at the Annual Conference. This working group aims to secure funding for the program, ensuring the geographical diversity of opportunities in underrepresented areas. Travel grant applications are evaluated and conferred by CIMAM’s Travel Grant Committee and the travel grant funder.

The 2023-25 Travel Grant Program consists of CIMAM Board members: Agustin Perez Rubio (Chair), Clara M. Kim, Kitty Scott, Joselina Cruz, Amanda de la Garza, and Kamini Sawhney.

Sustainability and Ecology in Museum Practice

Museums have long been vehicles for social and political engagement, if not outright change. What role should museums play in the issue of climate change? Since 2019, CIMAM's Sustainability and Ecology in Museum Practice committee has been working to address the most pressing needs of museums to adopt sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. In 2021, the group developed a Toolkit on Environmental Museum Practices following the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda to identify actions that could help mitigate the negative environmental impact of museum practices. In 2023, the toolkit was updated with examples that integrate social and economic aspects. In 2024, CIMAM will incorporate indigenous knowledge from various regions of the world into its toolkit to provide recommendations that encourage a more representative and holistic approach to sustainable museum practices. This initiative is in line with point 6 of the United Nations General Assembly Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which recognizes that respect for indigenous knowledge, cultures and traditional practices contributes to sustainable and equitable development and sound environmental management.

The 2023-25 Sustainability and Ecology in Museum Practice working group consists of CIMAM Board members: Suzanne Cotter (Chair), Suhanya Raffel, Malgorzata Ludwisiak, Clara M. Kim, Kitty Scott, Leevi Happala, and Joselina Cruz.

Rapid Response Webinars

The RRW program is addressed to our international community to reinforce the sense of connectivity through online meetings in a peer-to-peer environment to present and discuss progressive, experimental, and impactful museum practices from around the world. The program for 2024 will address the need for museums to become more climate-sensitive and to question "international norms" of conservation and museum practices established many decades ago to reimagine more sustainable and ecological ways of conceiving the museum as an institution that embraces and coexists with nature rather than excluding the non-human and slowing down time. Other topics to be discussed will include the potential advantages and disadvantages of harnessing the power of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) in museums. In addition, the importance of learning from indigenous knowledge systems, different from Western ones, will be emphasized. Held every last Thursday of the month, Rapid Response Webinars are organized by Board members or CIMAM members who have submitted a webinar proposal at different time zones and with an international representation of invited panelists.

The 2023 Rapid Response Webinars consist of CIMAM Board members: Kitty Scott, Malgorzata Ludwisiak, Yu Jin Seng, and Chus Martinez.

Watch all CIMAM’s Rapid Response Webinars here.

Outstanding Museum Practices Award

The CIMAM Outstanding Museum Practice Award recognizes the incredible work being done in museums around the world. It is dedicated to promoting excellence in innovation in modern and contemporary art museums, encouraging public accessibility and exchange, and sustainability within the sector. Launched in 2021, the Award is based on nominations received from across the contemporary art museum sector and aims to recognize those practices that, independent of scale and level of resources, inspire in their relevance and connection to people, communities, and context. Nominating an outstanding practice is an opportunity to celebrate the possibilities of museums that are making a real difference.

The 2023-25 CIMAM Outstanding Museum Practices Award steering committee consists of CIMAM Board members: Suzanne Cotter (Chair), Suhanya Raffel, Joselina Cruz, Leevi Haapala, Chus Martinez, and Kamini Sawhney.

CIMAM’s Executive Office

Four professionals are dedicated to coordinating the different working groups and to implementing and taking care of all CIMAM activities and programs, including the relationship with members, patrons, and partners, communication, social media, and press, among others.

Inés Jover
Director CIMAM Executive Office
inesjover[at]cimam.org

Isabel Sozzi
CIMAM Administration and Production
members[at]cimam.org

Mireia Salvador Branera
CIMAM Administration and Production
members[at]cimam.org

Mireia Azuara
Head of CIMAM Communication & Sustainability
communication[at]cimam.org