CIMAM Connects 2026

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Scheduled and Proposed Topics for the 2026 CIMAM Connects Series

CIMAM Connects is a peer-led platform where CIMAM members can propose topics, exchange ideas, and engage in open dialogue on the pressing issues shaping the international museum and contemporary art landscape. These sessions can be moderated by CIMAM members, creating a truly collaborative and engaging space.

Explore the 2026 CIMAM Connects session calendar and register via Members Only.

Research as a Core Museum Practice:
From Grounded Knowledge Production to Exhibition Display

Led by Sabrina Moura, Head of Research, Louvre Abu Dhabi

Wednesday, 13 May

  • 9 am Buenos Aires (ART)
  • 2 pm Madrid (CET)
  • 4 pm Abu Dhabi (GST)
  • 5.30 pm Delhi (IST)
  • 8 pm Singapore (SGT)

Go to Members Only to register for this CIMAM Connects Session

Abstract:

Museums today increasingly recognize research as a core practice that shapes the building of collections, curatorial strategies, and exhibition-making. Sustained research practices in museums can expand the artistic canon and challenge hierarchical visions of art and knowledge.

This session examines how research-led initiatives in museums—such as collection-based approaches, institutional collaborations, fellowships, and interdisciplinary projects—can inform curatorial perspectives, acquisition policies, and the interpretation and presentation of artworks. It also explores contextual modes of research that emerge within museum settings, including practice-based experimentation and engagement with non-academic formats. These approaches enable museums to generate knowledge grounded in collections and everyday practice while remaining open to multiple methodologies beyond conventional scholarship.

WHO TELLS THE STORY?
Power, Appropriation, and the Ethics of Translation in a Museum

Led by Ileana Ramirez, Independent Curator at Tráfico Visual in Caracas, Venezuela.

Thursday, 26 February

  • 9 am Caracas

Abstract:

Contemporary museums are not neutral spaces: they function as cultural mediators, producers of discourse, and active agents in shaping narratives about history, memory, and identity. This role brings forward complex dilemmas around the ethics of representation, cultural appropriation, the authority to speak, and the fidelity involved in translating knowledge.

This online gathering invites to a conversation around key questions such as:

  • How can cultural visibility be fostered with respect for the communities represented?
  • Who is allowed to tell the story within the museum, and how is that permission shaped?
  • What is lost or transformed when a cultural experience is translated into an exhibition?

Rather than seeking consensus, the aim is to activate a critical discussion, grounded in concrete experiences and examples about the ethical limits and institutional responsibilities of the contemporary museum.