CIMAM Advocates for Museums for Modern and Contemporary Art

PR 9 July 2020

CIMAM Advocates for Museums for Modern and Contemporary Art

Thursday July 9th, Barcelona – At a time of social, economic, and ecological crisis around the world that has been further intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic, the role of museums has never been more important. We congratulate UNESCO on their report on Museums Around the World in the Face of Covid-19, which outlines the social as well as the economic impact of some 85,000 museum closures.

CIMAM, the International Committee for Museums and Collection of Modern Art, wishes to highlight the role of museums of modern and contemporary art as conveyers of collective memory, fostering cultural participation and social cohesion and equality, promoting cross-disciplinary dialogue and exchange, and as drivers of sustainable economic development. CIMAM subscribes to the resolutions elaborated by ICOM in Kyoto in 2019 on sustainability and the implementation of the United Nations Agenda 2030, Transforming the World. Among these goals are addressing social, economic, and gender inequality, climate change, and environmental and human rights.

With the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, museums have been thrust into states of heightened precariousness. CIMAM advocates at this crucial time for funding bodies and boards and local and national governments around the world to support museums and their staffs, and the cultural and economic eco-systems that they enable.

About CIMAM

Founded in 1962, CIMAM’s vision is a world where the contribution of museums, collections, and archives of modern and contemporary art to the cultural, social, and economic wellbeing of society is recognized and respected. Its mission is to foster a global network of museums and museum professionals to respond to the evolving needs of modern and contemporary art institutions, taking a leadership role on issues of concern by generating new and unpublished work that anticipates questions reflecting on the needs of the profession.

CIMAM 2020–22 Board Members

Mami Kataoka, President of CIMAM and Director, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan. Suzanne Cotter, Secretary-Treasurer of CIMAM and Director, Mudam Luxembourg—Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg. Agustín Pérez Rubio, Curator 11th Berlin Biennale. Berlin, Germany. Ann-Sofi Noring, Co-director, Moderna Museet. Stockholm, Sweden. Bart De Baere, Director, M HKA— Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen. Antwerpen, Belgium. Calin Dan, Director, MNAC Bucharest—National Museum of Contemporary Art. Bucharest, Romania. Ernestine White- Mifetu, Director, William Humphreys Art Gallery. Kimberley, South Africa. Eugene Tan, Director, National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum. Singapore. Frances Morris, Director, Tate Modern. London, United Kingdom. Malgorzata Ludwisiak, Independent Curator & Art Critic. Rhana Devenport, Director, Art Gallery of South Australia. Adelaide, Australia. Sarah Glennie, Director, National College of Art and Design. Dublin, Ireland. Saskia Bos, Art historian and curator. Amsterdam, Netherlands. Suhanya Raffel, Museum Director, M+. Hong Kong, China. Victoria Noorthoorn, Director, Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires, Argentina.