How was CIMAM 2025 in Turin?
Enduring Game: Expanding New Models of Museum Making. With the guiding mantra: “Of Necessity, Virtue.”
The production and organization of the 57th CIMAM 2025 Annual Conference that took place in Turin, Italy, on November 28-30, was generously supported by Lead Sponsors Fondazione Arte CRT and Fondazione CRT.
It was co-hosted by Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Fondazione Torino Musei, and Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea.
Exceptional in-kind support was generously provided by Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.
The conference also received the collaboration from Fondazione Teatro Stabile di Torino – Teatro Nazionale; OGR Torino; Centrale Nuvola Lavazza; Consorzio Residenze Reali Sabaude and Venaria Reale.
An optional post-tour was organized to Langhe and Milan on December 1–2, 2025 supported by Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Palazzo Re Rebaudengo, Ceretto Aziende Vitivinicole, and Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan.
This marked CIMAM’s return to Italy after almost 50 years, with its last Italian edition held in Bologna and Prato in 1976, bringing together more than 300 contemporary art museum directors and curators worldwide, including 39 CIMAM Travel Grant recipients, to propose a dynamic and very open and participative exercise consisting of exploring together the difficulties of enduring game-changing hardships while breeding new paradigms in the museum field.
A total record number of 302 modern and contemporary art curators and museum professionals from 56 different countries attended the CIMAM 2025 Annual Conference.
- Watch the 4-minute summary video of CIMAM's 2025 Annual Conference.
- Read the CIMAM 2025 Conference Report, and check out a great selection of photos!
- Watch the speakers' presentations on CIMAM TV.
- Browse the report and articles of CIMAM 2025 Travel Grant Beneficiaries.
- Visit the CIMAM 2025 Conference Booklet.
The Content Committee proposed a carefully choreographed three-day program to foster deep engagement and shared reflection. Each day opened with a welcome remark and an artist's intervention, followed by a 40-minute keynote lecture and breakout sessions, which set the tone of bodily and intellectual attention.
This edition invited museum professionals to come together in a spirit of critical inquiry and collective imagination to explore the evolving role of contemporary art institutions in an increasingly complex global context.
The conference program was conceived as an interactive experience, featuring six speakers, three keynote addresses, one plenary Q&A with the audience, two breakout sessions, and – for the first time – three artist performances commissioned by CIMAM to open each day of the conference.
Invited Performers:
- Alessandro Sciarroni, Performing Artist, Choreographer, Director, CORPOCELESTE, Rome/San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy
- Abdullah Miniawy, Expressionist, Writer, Composer, and Performer, Paris, France
- Diana Anselmo, Performer and Visual Artist, Milan, Italy
Invited Keynotes: (watch their presentations)
- Françoise Vergès, Senior Fellow, Sarah Parker Remond Center for the Study of Racism and Racialization, UCL, London, UK
- Elizabeth A. Povinelli, Franz Boas Professor of Anthropology & Gender Studies, Columbia University, New York City, USA
- Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value, University College London (UCL), Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose, London, UK
Invited Speakers: (watch their presentations)
- Karen Archey, Head of Curatorial Department, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Rustom Bharucha, International Fellow of the British Academy in London, Kolkata, India
- Onome Ekeh, Writer, Filmmaker, Lecturer, Academy of Art & Design, Basel, Switzerland
- Alessandra Ferrini, Artist, Researcher, Educator, University of the Arts London, Corby, UK
- Francesco Manacorda, Director, Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy
- Azu Nwagbogu, Founder/Director, African Artists’ Foundation & LagosPhoto Festival, Lagos, Nigeria
Afternoon visits to 9 contemporary art exhibitions and institutions in Turin:
- Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
- Fondazione Merz
- GAM Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
- MAO – Museo d'Arte Orientale
- Gallerie d’Italia
- Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea
- MAUTO – Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile
- Pinacoteca Agnelli
- Luci d’Artista
This year, CIMAM introduced several new elements to enhance the conference experience and organization:
- An artist performance opening each day.
- A visualizer. Norma Nardi, a visual artist specialized in listening and capturing the bigger picture, was on stage creating illustrations and graphic recordings throughout the speakers’ presentations on days 1 and 2.
- WhatsApp Community notification channel that provided practical and last-minute information to attendees who were invited to join this channel voluntarily.
- Virtual Who’s Who, featuring a searchable directory with contact details and field of interest.
- Moderated sessions by meeting participants in advance. This approach aimed to activate CIMAM’s constituency by empowering members to lead the breakout sessions, allowing discussions to begin in advance through early introductions and exchanges on shared interests, and to be further developed during the time in Turin.
- Extended Programme for Travel Grantees: CIMAM organized a virtual meeting with all awarded professionals in advance of the conference, led by Agustín Pérez Rubio and Chus Martínez, to foster early exchange. In addition, CIMAM hosted a dedicated dinner and a curated itinerary of studio visits and artistic projects in Turin for Getty Foundation–supported grantees, developed by Michele Bertolino, Independent Curator and Coordinator of the Young Curators Residency Programme, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudnego. Grantees supported by other funders were also invited to join these visits.
CIMAM 2025 Content Committee
The CIMAM 2025 Annual Conference is conceived and organized by the Content Steering Committee, made up of:
- Chus Martinez, (Chair of the Contents Committee), Director of the Institute of Art Gender Nature in Basel.
- Chiara Bertola, Director, GAM – Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Torino, Turin, Italy.
- Bernardo Follini, Senior Curator, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy.
- Leevi Haapala, Dean, Academy of Fine Arts, University of Arts, Helsinki, Finland.
- Malgorzata Ludwisiak, Ph.D., Museum Management Expert / Freelance Curator / Academic Teacher, Warsaw, Poland.
- Francesco Manacorda, Director, Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy.
- Victoria Noorthoorn, Director, Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Davide Quadrio, Director, Museo d’Arte Orientale (MAO), Turin, Italy.
- Kamini Sawhney, Head, Public Arts Projects, BlrHubba, Museum Management Expert, Independent Curator, Bangalore, India.
Outstanding Museum Practice Award (OMPA 2025)
During the first day of the Annual Conference, CIMAM announced the three recipients of its fifth edition of the Outstanding Museum Practice Award (OMPA 2025).
This year’s edition received 48 nominations from museums across the globe, reflecting the creativity, innovation, and resilience of institutions working in highly diverse contexts. OMPA 2025 winners were:
- Museo Barda del Desierto (mBDD) in Northern Patagonia, Argentina
- Bergen Kjøtt Foundation in Bergen, Norway
- The Palestinian Museum in Birzeit, Palestine
Read all about their awarded practices here.
CIMAM 2025 Travel Grant Program
Following the announcement, the 39 Travel Grant Beneficiaries were presented by Agustín Perez-Rubio, CIMAM Board Member, Chair of CIMAM’s Travel Grants Selection Committee, and Independent Curator, Madrid.
This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Travel Grant program, which has supported the participation of over 400 modern and contemporary art museum professionals from around the world since 2005. Read their bios, articles, and reports about the conference here.
CIMAM is deeply grateful to the institutions and individuals who have made possible the 2025 Travel Grant Program:
- The Getty Foundation supported 17 professionals from. Emerging Markets and Developing Economies. It has supported 323 since 2005.
- Saastamoinen Foundation supported 4 professionals from Africa. It has supported 10 since 2023.
- Teresa A.L. Bulgheroni supported 3 professionals from Latin American countries. She has supported 3 since 2025.
- The Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (CPPC) supported 3 professionals from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and their diasporas. It has supported 47 since 2005 (*).
- Mercedes Vilardell supported 3 professionals from Africa. She has supported 15 since 2021.
- Aimée Labarrere de Servitje supported 3 professionals from Mexico. She has supported 8 since 2023.
- Eloisa Haudenschild supported 4 professionals from Emerging Markets and Developing Economies. She has supported 8 since 2023.
- Fernando Zobel de Ayala supported 3 professionals from the Philippines. He has supported 6 since 2023.
- Chitra Talwar supported 3 professionals from India. She has supported 3 since 2025.
CIMAM Board 2026-28 and appointment of Suhanya Raffel as Honorary Member
During the General Assembly on Day 3, CIMAM announced the newly elected President and Board for the period (2026-28).
Browse CIMAM's former Board Members since 1986!
The newly elected President of CIMAM was Amanda de la Garza Mata, Artistic Deputy Director, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Madrid, Spain.
Meet the new Board for the period 2026-28!
The Assembly also approved the appointment of Suhanya Raffel as CIMAM Honorary Member and acknowledged the outgoing CIMAM Board members. Honorary Members are those CIMAM Members who are considered to have performed outstanding services on behalf of CIMAM on the recommendation of the board. They are appointed for life.
Meet CIMAM's Honorary Members!
Save the date for CIMAM's 2026 Annual Conference!
At the end of the General Assembly, CIMAM announced Harare (Zimbabwe) as the new city to host CIMAM's 58th Annual Conference.
The next edition will be hosted by the National Gallery of Zimbabwe between 20-22 November 2026.
The announcement was delivered during the CIMAM General Assembly by Raphael Chikukwa, Executive Director of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, joined by Maphios Cheda, Board Chairman of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe; Fortune Kaseke, Business Development Manager at Higherlife Foundation and the National Gallery of Zimbabwe; Fadzai Veronica Muchemwa, Curator of Contemporary Art; and Livingstone Muchefa, Operations and Administration Manager, with the support and presence of the CIMAM Board members 2023–25.
Save the date for CIMAM's 2026 in Zimbabwe!
CIMAM 2025 Conference Production Team
- Mireia Azuara, Head of Communication and Sustainability, CIMAM Executive Office, Barcelona
- Mireia Branera, Production, CIMAM Executive Office, Barcelona
- Ines Jover, Director, CIMAM Executive Office, Barcelona
- Ilaria Menolascina, Chief of the Organisational Office, Fondazione Arte CRT, Turin
- Alessia Petrolito, Organisational Office, Fondazione Arte CRT, Turin
- Isabel Sozzi, Production, CIMAM Executive Office, Barcelona
- Alexandria Tylar Westfall, Intern at the CIMAM Executive Office, Barcelona
- Helen Weaver, Head of the Italian Production team, CIMAM 2025 Annual Conference, Turin
CIMAM’s 2025 Conference Identity
- Studio Rogier Delfos, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Annual Conference and Post Tour Photographer
- Giorgio Perottino
Travel Grants and Afternoon Visits Photographer
- Alberto Nidola
Videographer Still Camera
- Miha Sagadin
Videographers and Video Interviews
- BePolar Studio
Transport, Angels, Materials Production
- Elena Dell’Aquila, Agenzia Mosaico, Turin, Italy