Joselina Cruz

Academic and Professional Background

I currently serve as Director and Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) Manila, which is part of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in the Philippines. Throughout my career, I’ve focused on Southeast Asian contemporary art within international contexts, including curating the Philippine Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale and serving as curator for both the 2008 Singapore Biennial and 2009 Jakarta Biennale.

My curatorial journey has taken me across regional institutions—from the Singapore Art Museum and The Lopez Memorial Museum to my current role at MCAD Manila. I also work as a consultant and advisor for local and regional art foundations, helping with collection development and exhibition programming through acquisition committees and governance roles. Additionally, I serve on juries for contemporary art and design competitions.

My work across all these capacities consistently emphasizes transparent, thoughtful decision-making paired with generosity, knowledge, respect, and open curiosity. In my jury roles, I often advocate for inclusive selection processes that support emerging voices. Leading a contemporary art museum without a permanent collection has given me unique insight into the challenges many Southeast Asian institutions face, which drives my commitment to building sustainable networks and partnerships. I continue to push for the support of local communities without forgetting our commitment to fostering international dialogue by developing meaningful collaborations with other institutions globally.

Motivation statement explaining what encourages you to join the Board of CIMAM

Having served on the CIMAM Board for three years, I have witnessed firsthand the transformative support CIMAM provides to modern and contemporary art museums and the wider museum community. The way the organization approaches collaboration and maintains ethical practices has been genuinely inspiring and shows what thoughtful cultural leadership looks like.

I would like to keep building on this work, particularly in amplifying our global colleagues’ achievements through strategic practice and project recognition. My experience has strengthened my belief in CIMAM’s mission to foster global museum cooperation while keeping ethical practice central to our efforts.

I am committed to dedicating time and expertise to advancing sustainable museum practices worldwide—a responsibility that aligns with our ethical obligation to future generations. I am particularly passionate about my involvement with committees that champion diverse voices, including the Outstanding Museum Practice Award and travel grant initiatives. These programs embody our fundamental commitment to equity and represent meaningful expressions of solidarity across cultural and geographical boundaries.

Most importantly, these initiatives provide essential recognition for colleagues whose work might otherwise go unnoticed, ensuring that excellence in museum practice is celebrated regardless of institutional size or geographic location. This democratization of recognition reflects CIMAM’s ethical foundation and its dedication to supporting the entire museum ecosystem.

Through continued support of the Board, I hope to support in strengthening these programs while upholding its principles.

Explain how you see the role of CIMAM in advancing contemporary art museums globally

I see CIMAM playing a crucial role in expanding its reach throughout Southeast Asia, a region with extraordinary creative potential. Over the past three years, I’ve witnessed significant growth in contemporary art institutions across this region, and it would be a unique challenge to see how CIMAM can support these emerging institutions.

Southeast Asia represents one of the world’s most dynamic contemporary art ecosystems. Voices in this part of the world must have sustained representation in global museum networks, and CIMAM offers a unique platform. Southeast Asian institutions are pioneering new ways of engaging audiences, building collections, and fostering cultural exchange that could inform museum practice worldwide. These innovative approaches deserve recognition and integration into global museum discourse. We know that contemporary art museums are prime spaces for exchange, dialogue, and healing, and through CIMAM’s network it can identify, support, and amplify institutions across this region—from the Philippine and Indonesian art scenes to Thailand’s developing museum landscape—as well as those nearby. These institutions are redefining what museums can be, from community-centered spaces to digitally native platforms challenging traditional models.

With continued representation from this region, Asian and Southeast Asian voices can actively shape the future direction of museums and exhibitions, bringing fresh perspectives on sustainability, community engagement, and cultural stewardship. By strengthening these connections, the global museum landscape can become more sensitive to the complexity of art institutions while supporting spaces that are pushing the boundaries of contemporary art museums.

How would you help CIMAM advocate for museums in areas such as funding, membership engagement, and strategic initiatives to achieve its mission?

I can contribute in the area of funding with my experience working in institutions operating without traditional government support. Studying these models can prove useful in articulating alternative funding models for spaces and institutions struggling in this area. Cultural institutions from our part of the world have had to develop innovative approaches to sustainability—from community partnerships to the creation of materials cooperatives—that could inform the broader funding question. These alternative models can be documented to demonstrate museum resilience and adaptability to potential funders.

For the increase of membership, my regional relationships can be advantageous in increasing CIMAM’s Asian membership base. I understand the financial and logistical barriers many independent curators and smaller institutions face, and we can develop accessible participation models. This includes advocating for sliding membership scales, remote participation options, and regional programming that makes CIMAM membership meaningful for diverse institutional contexts.

Lastly, I can support and facilitate reciprocal exchanges across a variety of curatorial approaches and institutional models. Rather than extractive relationships, we can advocate for partnerships that focus on community-centered programming that can contribute to global museum discourse. These institutions are pioneering new approaches to audience engagement and cultural stewardship that could strengthen strategic direction. By ensuring that Asian and Southeast Asian voices actively shape the space of contemporary art, we can make the organization of CIMAM more representative of today’s dynamic museum landscape. A diversity of institutional models can strengthen the global museum community, advancing CIMAM’s missions through inclusive, sustainable advocacy.

If elected as a Board Member, what would be your main objectives or areas of action for the next three years for CIMAM to contribute to the sustainable development of the modern and contemporary art museum sector?

Over the next three years, I’d focus on three interconnected objectives that address the sector’s most pressing challenges. I would focus on building regional networks and resilience. I would like to identify regional priorities and create sustainable pathways for institutional collaboration. Many talented curators and innovative institutions in our region work in isolation. Developing mentorship networks connecting emerging practitioners with established professionals, while advocating for meaningful representation—not just tokenistic inclusion, but genuine partnership where regional perspectives shape organizational decisions.

I am also looking to strengthen crisis response capabilities. The pandemic revealed how vulnerable many institutions are, particularly in the Global South. I would like to encourage CIMAM to develop better support systems for museums facing economic, political, or environmental challenges. We can look at and study creating region-specific sustainability approaches that acknowledge different resource realities while maintaining standards.

The ongoing crisis facing cultural workers—from funding cuts to brain drain—requires urgent action. Institutions, especially in my part of the world, often achieve maximum impact with minimal resources. CIMAM could recognize these realities and develop equitable support mechanisms that learn from our region’s innovations in collaborative exhibition-making and community-centered programming.