CIMAM Awards 34 Travel Grants to Attend its 56th Annual Conference in Los Angeles

Copia de Zoë Gray (c) Saskia Vanderstichele
CIMAM's 2024 Travel Grant Beneficiaries

From top left to right: Alex Alonso Díaz, Santiago Avila Albuja, Teesa Bahana, Maria Consuelo Cabrera, Ramiro Camelo, Ilaria Conti, Douglas de Freitas, Aindrea Emelife, Karen Adriana Flores Suarez, Marie-Nour Hechaime, Fabiola Iza, Mayari Juracan, Martha Kazungu, Jina Kim, Deniz Kirkali, Erëmirë Krasniqi, Alejandra Labastida Escalante, Silja Leifsdottir, Christina Li, Milja Liimatainen, André Luiz Mesquita, Ingrid Orman, Esra Özkan, Fernanda Ramos Mena, Aditya Lingga Rohadi, Eva Rowson, Ana Ruiz Valencia, Irene Pernille Snarby, Patricia Sorroche Quesada, James Luigi Tana, Aprille Tijam, Armen Yesayants, Chahrazad Zahi, Larisa Luz Zmud.

Barcelona, September 10th, 2024 – CIMAM proudly announces that 34 directors, curators, and researchers from modern and contemporary art museums across 20 countries have been awarded travel grants to attend the CIMAM 56th Annual Conference in Los Angeles, scheduled from December 6-8, 2024.

"Every year, the trust and generosity of our funders are fundamental. Without them, the magnitude of these grants wouldn't be possible, nor would the broad international spectrum of these grants that produce relationships, collaborations, and dialogues between colleagues from different parts of the world, reinforcing their networks of contacts and knowledge exchanges", declares Agustin Pérez Rubio, CIMAM Board Member, and Chair of the Travel Grant Program.

The 56th CIMAM Annual Conference is a highly anticipated event that will be jointly hosted and organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the Hammer Museum at UCLA, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

This year's conference, entitled "Sustainable Futures: How? When? For Whom?" will address the subject of sustainability from an integrated and holistic perspective. “Beginning with our desire to respond to climate change by reassessing our policies around collection care and conservation; rethinking the buildings we occupy and the cities we are part of; while also exploring innovative models for economic sustainability and community building, this year’s conference will bring together colleagues who are transforming the field by redefining the intersection of art, ecology and society.”, declares Clara Kim, CIMAM Board Member, Chair of CIMAM Annual Conference Contents Committee and Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

CIMAM is profoundly grateful to the institutions and individuals that have made possible this year's Travel Grant Program through the generous support of:

  • The Getty Foundation (Los Angeles)
  • Saastamoinen Foundation (Helsinki)
  • Mercedes Vilardell (London/Mallorca)
  • Aimée Labarrere de Servitje (Mexico City)
  • Eloisa Haudenschild (United States)
  • Fernando Zobel de Ayala (Manila)
  • OCA – Office for Contemporary Art Norway (Oslo)
  • SAHA (Istanbul)
  • Consulate General of Brazil (Los Angeles)
  • Byucksan Cultural Foundation (Seoul)

CIMAM looks forward to welcoming these outstanding professionals and engaging in productive conversations that will help shape the sustainable future of museums around the world.

List of the 34 CIMAM Travel Grant beneficiaries who will attend the Annual Conference:

The Getty Foundation (Los Angeles)

  • Santiago Ávila Albuja, Exhibitions and Public Programs Manager, Quito Contemporary Art Center, Quito, Ecuador.
  • Douglas de Freitas, Curatorial Coordinator, Inhotim Institute, Museum and Botanical Garden, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
  • Aindrea Emelife, Curator Modern and Contemporary Art, Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), Lagos, Nigeria.
  • Marie-Nour Hechaime, Curator, Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock Museum, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • Mayari Juracan, Director, Bienal en resistência, Santa Lucía Milpas Altas, Guatemala.
  • Erëmirë Krasniqi, Curator, National Pavilion of the Republic of Kosovo at the 60th International Art Exhibition—La Biennale di Venezia, Pristina, Kosovo.
  • Alejandra Labastida Escalante, Curator, MUAC (Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo), Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Christina Li, Independent Curator, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
  • Ana Ruiz Valencia, Junior Curator, Medellin Museum of Modern Art, Medellin, Colombia.
  • Aprille Tijam, Associate Director and Head of Exhibitions and Collections, Ayala Museum, Makati City, Philippines.
  • Armen Yesayants, Director of Exhibitions, Cafesjian Center for the Arts/Cafesjian Museum Foundation, Yerevan, Armenia.
  • Chahrazad Zahi, Independent Curator and Researcher, Marrakech, Morocco.
  • Larisa Luz Zmud, Independent Curator, Coordinator and Curator of Contents for The Rolling Map of the Argentinian Contemporary Art Scene, Museo Moderno de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Saastamoinen Foundation (Helsinki)

  • Ramiro Camelo, Curator and Project Manager, Vantaa, Finland.
  • Milja Liimatainen, Curator, Changing Exhibitions, Helsinki Art Museum (HAM), Finland.
  • Ingrid Orman, Chief Curator of Exhibitions, Espoo Museum of Modern Art (EMMA), Helsinki, Finland.

Mercedes Vilardell (London/Mallorca)

  • Teesa Bahana, Director, 32° East, Kampala, Uganda.
  • Martha Kazungu, Founding Director, Njabala Foundation, Kampala, Uganda.

Aimée Labarrere de Servitje (Mexico City)

  • Karen Adriana Flores Suarez, Researcher, Colección CIAC, Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Fabiola Iza, Curator and Researcher, Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Fernanda Ramos Mena, Independent Curator, Mexico City, Mexico.

Eloisa Haudenschild (United States)

  • Ilaria Conti, Executive Director and Chief Curator, La Nueva Fábrica (LNF), Santa Ana Antigua, Guatemala.
  • Aditya Lingga Rohadi, Assistant Curator, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art di Nusantara (Museum MACAN), Jakarta Pusat, Indonesia.

Fernando Zobel de Ayala (Manila)

  • Maria Consuelo Cabrera, Instructor and Independent Curator, Department of Art Studies, College of Arts and Letters, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines.
  • James Luigi Tana, Independent Curator, Arts Writer, Educator, Cultural Worker, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Manila, Philippines.

OCA – Office for Contemporary Art Norway (Oslo)

  • Silja Leifsdottir, Exhibition Curator, Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen, Norway.
  • Irene Pernille Snarby, Ph.D. Candidate, Curator, The Arctic University of Norway (UiT), Tromsø, Norway.
  • Eva Rowson, Director Bergen Kjøtt, Bergen, Norway.

SAHA (Istanbul)

  • Deniz Kirkali, Curator and Co-Founder, Garp Sessions, topsoil, Istanbul, Türkiye.
  • Esra Özkan, Independent Curator, Istanbul, Turkey.

Spanish Support (Spain)

  • Alex Alonso Díaz, Director, fluent, Santander, Spain.
  • Patricia Sorroche Quesada, Head of Exhibitions, Museu Tàpies, Barcelona, Spain.

Consulate General of Brazil (Los Angeles)

  • André Luiz Mesquita, Curator, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Byucksan Cultural Foundation (Seoul)

  • Jina Kim, Project Director, Space for Contemporary Art, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

→ Bios of CIMAM 2024 Travel Grant beneficiaries

About CIMAM’s Travel Grant Program:

The aim of the CIMAM Travel Grant Program is to support the curatorial and research development of applicants through their attendance at the Annual Conference, where the most current concerns on contemporary art practices are being discussed.

Awarded candidates benefit from unique networking opportunities through interaction and exchange with international museum directors and peers and become Members of CIMAM for the term they have been awarded.

CIMAM's Annual Conference 2024 Hosts and Supporters:

The 56th CIMAM Annual Conference is co-hosted by The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the Hammer Museum at UCLA, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

Production of the 2024 Annual Conference is 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 is provided by the Perenchio Foundation and the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation. Hauser & Wirth and East West Bank provide hosting sponsorship.

The post-conference tour to the desert is made possible through the support of Desert X, Sunnylands Center & Gardens, High Desert Test Sites, Visit Greater Palm Springs, and Palm Spring Art Museum.

→ Check the speakers' lineup.

About CIMAM:

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'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 to debate and share knowledge on issues of concern through key initiatives 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 museum 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. Led by an international Board of Directors and Curators and operated by the Executive Office based in Barcelona (Spain), the organization relies on the collective expertise of its members to advance the sector and realize the shared vision.

For further information, please contact Mireia Azuara, Head of Communications, at communication@cimam.org.