How was CIMAM 2023?

The CIMAM 2023 Annual Conference was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 9–11 November, hosted by the Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, under the auspices of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires. An optional post-tour was organized to Salta on November 12 and 13, 2023.

→ Watch the 4-minute summary video of CIMAM's 2023 Annual Conference.

→ Read the CIMAM 2023 Conference Report.

→ Read the reports and articles of CIMAM 2023 Travel Grant Beneficiaries.

→ Watch the speakers' presentations on CIMAM TV.

→ Re-visit the CIMAM 2023 Conference Booklet.

→ Annual Conference 2023 Buenos Aires.

A total of 248 modern and contemporary art curators and museum professionals from 48 countries attended the CIMAM 2023 Annual Conference.

The programming and production of the 55th Annual Conference was made possible thanks to the generous support of the following partners and key contemporary art museums and foundations in Uruguay and Argentina:

• Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, under the auspices of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires.
• Fundación Ama Amoedo and Colección Amalita.
• Fundación Proa.
• Malba (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires).
• Asociación Amigos del Moderno.
• ArtHaus.
• Andrea Arditi Schwartz.
• Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport.

The three-day event fostered a progressive conversation, delving into the social and educational responsibilities of modern and contemporary art museums and exploring different facets of art institutions' role in society.

Participants discussed how art institutions act as agents of change, the various practices shaping organizational and individual agency, and the interpretation of memory as a social tool. Co-creation emerged as a central theme, emphasizing mutuality and care in the art world.

The conference program offered the contributions of 16 speaker presentations and 3 panel discussions.

DAY 1: Thursday 9 November. How Can Museums Embrace their Social Responsibility? A Question from the Americas

• Elvira Espejo Ayca, Artist and Director, Museo Nacional de Etnografía y Folklore, La Paz, Bolivia.
• Pablo Lafuente, Artistic Director, Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Simon Njami, Independent Curator, Paris, France.
• Nicolás Testoni, Director, Ferrowhite – museo taller, Bahía Blanca, Argentina.
• Coco Fusco, Artist and Professor, Cooper Union, Brooklyn, USA.
• Moderated by CIMAM Board Member Chus Martínez, Director, Institute Art Gender Nature, Basel, Switzerland.

DAY 2: Friday 10 November. The Role of Museums in Communities, Education, and Accessibility

• Luis Camnitzer, Artist, Great Neck, USA.
• Daina Leyton, Cultural Accessibility Consultant, Moreira Salles Institute, São Paulo, Brazil.
• Marie Hélène Pereira, Curatorial Advisor, RAW Material Company, Dakar, Senegal, Senior Curator (performative practices), Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany.
• teresa cisneros, Senior Practice Manager, Culture Equity Diversity Inclusion, Wellcome Trust, London, UK.
• Ana Gallardo, Artist, Mexico City, Mexico.
• Moderated by Amanda de la Garza, Director, Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC), Mexico City.

DAY 3: Saturday 11 November. How Can Museums Collect, Preserve, and Protect Cultural Heritage While Creating New Communities?

• Marian Pastor Roces, Curator and Principal Partner, TAOINC, Metropolitan Manila, Philippines.
• Luma Hamdan, Director, Darat al Funun – The Khalid Shoman Foundation, Amman, Jordan.
• Yto Barrada, Artist, Brooklyn/Tanger, USA/Morocco.
• Claudia Zaldívar, Director, Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende (MSSA), Santiago, Chile.
• María Belén Correa, Director and Founder, Archivo de la Memoria Trans Argentina (Argentinian Trans Memory Archive), Hanover, Germany.
• Sidhi Vhisatya, Curator, Queer Indonesia Archive (QIA), Jimbaran, Bali, Indonesia.
• Moderated by CIMAM Board members Malgorzata Ludwisiak, Artistic Director, The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland, and Yu Jin Seng, Deputy Director (Curatorial & Research), National Gallery Singapore, Singapore.

The 2023 Conference Contents Committee consisted of six CIMAM Board members who thought and designed the conference contents and list of guest speakers.

• Victoria Noorthoorn, (Chair) Director, Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Amanda de la Garza, Director, Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC), Mexico City, Mexico.
• Clara M Kim, Chief Curator & Director of Curatorial Affairs, MOCA, Los Angeles, United States of America.
• Malgorzata Ludwisiak, Artistic Director, The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
• Chus Martínez, Director, Art Gender Nature Institute HGK, Basel, Switzerland.
• Yu Jin Seng, Deputy Director (Curatorial & Research), National Gallery Singapore, Singapore.

During the three-day Conference, participants took part in an ambitious program of visits to more than 60 institutions and cultural spaces in the city of Buenos Aires. The diverse programming and artistic offerings allowed international visitors to fully immerse themselves in the local art scene, exploring artists' studios with passionate curiosity.

The Museo Moderno de Buenos Aires initiated this experience a year earlier by extending an open invitation to all art spaces in Buenos Aires. Collaboratively designing programs for November 2023 ensured the visibility of numerous working Argentine artists. The Friday Breakfasts on San Juan Avenue, organized by the Museo Moderno de Buenos Aires, provided curators and art galleries a platform to share their plans.

Simultaneously, the Museo Moderno orchestrated the groundbreaking Rolling Map of Argentine Contemporary Art, launched in October 2023.

This platform featured portfolios and profiles of over 900 artists, 13 museums, 14 foundations, 70 galleries, and 21 archives. It is a creative glossary encouraging exploration based on interests or desires.

As a culmination of these efforts, the Museo Moderno invited all CIMAM Annual Conference participants to study the Rolling Map and share their interests. Based on feedback from all delegates, the museum's curatorial team meticulously developed tailored itineraries for each participant.

The result: over 25 guided tours with more than 180 participants, offering a deep dive into the rich tapestry of the Argentine art scene.

The website seeks to map the entire Argentine art scene becoming an unprecedented tool created for the CIMAM Conference in Buenos Aires, that will remain active allowing anyone interested to gain an in-depth understanding of Argentina's vibrant art scene.

The program included a special invitation to attend Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, directed by renowned Brazilian director, Livia Sabag, at the magnificent Teatro Colón, acoustically one of the six most important opera houses in the world.

For the first time, simultaneous translation to and from Spanish and a crèche for children were offered during the Conference sessions.

A special mention to thank Andrea Arditi Schwartz for her generous support and warm hospitality in hosting the unforgettable Inaugural Dinner.

In 2023, 56 professionals received support from 12 institutions and individuals to attend the CIMAM 2023 Annual Conference.

The 2023 Travel Grant Program was generously funded by:

• The Getty Foundation, Los Angeles.
• ArtHaus, Buenos Aires.
• Aimée Labarrere de Servitje, Mexico.
• Byucksan Cultural Foundation, Seoul.
• Eloisa Haudenschild, United States.
• Embassy of Brazil, Buenos Aires.
• Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Manila.
• Mercedes Vilardell, London/Mallorca.
• OCA – Office for Contemporary Art Norway, Oslo.
• Saastamoinen Foundation, Helsinki.
• SAHA – Supporting Contemporary Art from Turkey, Istanbul.
• Samdani Art Foundation, Dhaka.

The post-conference tour to Salta was attended by a group of 35 delegates from the 12 to the 13th of November 2023

Known as ‘Salta La Linda’ (Salta The Beautiful), in the Argentinian North-West, the city is set in gorgeous Andean landscapes and showcases an exceptionally important tradition of visual arts informed by the landscape, local materials including red soils and clays and natural dyes, indigenous local cultures in the realms of weaving and pottery, and major cultural crossovers with modern and contemporary art.

On November 12, a group of 35 participants took an early flight to Salta, where they visited the city’s standout spaces and exhibitions, including the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (MAC) and the Museo de Bellas Artes de la Provincia de Salta, which, among other shows, housed the group exhibition of Wichí artists Lhajus Lhenek, curated by the Wichí artists’ and poets’ collective Centro Cultural TEWOK from the north of Salta Province. They also visited the Museo de Antropología de Salta, the legendary tapestry studio of ‘Pajita’ and Rodrigo García Bes, as well as the vital art space Remota, run by artist Guido Yannitto and gallery owner Gonzalo Elías.

On November 13, the group visited one of the most spectacular mountainous landscapes in the world, the Andean town of Cafayate, home to a vibrant community of contemporary artists. They enjoyed the views and places of interest, such as the Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat) and the Amphitheatre, a rock formation that will feature an on-site project by Cafayate-born artist Javier Soria Vázquez. The group had lunch in one of the local vineyards in the heart of the Calchaquí Valleys, before visiting the studio of artist Calixto Mamaní in the village. The itinerary included a visit to the open-air project by local artist Florencia Sadir.

Explore captivating interviews with esteemed speakers and CIMAM Board members as they share insights on the remarkable 55th CIMAM Annual Conference.

"Much of the creative work being done is critical of today's world."
Interview with Suhanya Raffel by Julia Villaro and originally published by Clarin
https://cimam.org/news-archive/much-of-the-creative-work-being-done-is-critical-of-todays-world/

"Directing a Museum is Like Tuning an Orchestra of Many Voices that Shape Art"
Interview with Pablo Lafuente By Ana Clara Pérez Cotten, Originally published in Telam 
https://cimam.org/news-archive/directing-a-museum-is-like-tuning-an-orchestra-of-many-voices-that-shape-art/

"Cuba is emptying out; only those who cannot afford to leave and the elderly remain"
Interview with Coco Fusco by Susana Reinoso for Clarin Diario
https://cimam.org/news-archive/cuba-is-emptying-out-only-those-who-cannot-afford-to-leave-and-the-elderly-remain/

"The artist is a laborer of knowledge"
Interview with Luis Camnitzer by Pilar Altillo for Clarin
https://cimam.org/news-archive/the-artist-is-a-laborer-of-knowledge/

Chus Martínez and the museum at its turning point
Interview with Chus Martínez conducted by March Mazzei and originally published by Clarin.
https://cimam.org/news-archive/chus-martinez-and-the-museum-at-its-turning-point/