CIMAM will hold its Annual Conference at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
CIMAM is the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern and Contemporary Art and an Affiliated Organization of ICOM, that in the last triennial has brought together leading exponents in the field of contemporary art museums in three international conferences, where relevant issues concerning the development of museums have been discussed, generating previously unpublished and reference content for the profession.
This year, the Annual Conference will be held in Sydney—hosted by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, the institution directed by CIMAM’s President. The conference is titled: The 21st Century Art Museum: Is Context Everything? Over three days the topics of Challenging the Narrative: Indigenous Perspectives; The Future of Collections; Beyond the Walls will be debated.
“We are now in a good position to develop CIMAM further as a dynamic organization representing the interests of professionals working in modern and contemporary art museums” said Elizabeth Ann Macgregor, OBE, Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, and President of CIMAM.
The presentations and discussions will be influenced by the context of Sydney, acknowledging the conflicting histories of cultural ownership, indigeneity, and place that define the cultural landscape of Australia. Looking out from the east coast of Australia to the Asia Pacific region and beyond, the conference will reflect upon questions and topics that aren’t just local but urgent for museums globally.
Keynote speakers include: Franklin Sirmans, Director of the Perez Art Museum Miami looking at The Future of Collections; and Sally Tallant, Director of the Queens Museum, New York, examining how institutions can go Beyond the Walls. Discover all the invited speakers here.
One of the achievements of the last triennial is the endorsement of the Museum Best Practices for Managing Controversy, a comprehensive document co-produced by the National Coalition Against Censorship’s Arts Advocacy Project and six collaborating national arts organizations. This is an excellent guide for all museum and gallery staff committed to supporting artists in presenting work that deals with contentious issues.
Also, one of the most important tasks carried out by CIMAM is the development of the Museum Watch Program, established 2012 to serve as an advocacy program addressing specific critical situations that impact on the ability of museums, not -for-profit institutions, and individuals working in modern and contemporary art, to maintain their professional codes of practice.
In the near future, projects such as the CIMAM Outstanding Museum Practice Award, which aims to promote excellence in innovation in modern and contemporary art museums, and the initiative Sustainability in Museum Practice to raise awareness about climate change and sustainability in museums, will be launched in 2019 and developed thorough the next triennial.
