Amanda de la Garza Mata appointed President of CIMAM for the 2026–28 term

Turin, Italy — CIMAM, the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art, is pleased to announce the election of its new President and Board Members for the 2026–28 term.

The announcement took place today, Sunday 30 November 2025, during the General Assembly held in the framework of the 57th CIMAM Annual Conference, Enduring Game: Expanding New Models of Museum Making, hosted by Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Fondazione Torino Musei, and Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, and supported by Fondazione CRT and Fondazione Arte CRT

The newly elected President of CIMAM (2026–28) is Amanda de la Garza Mata, Artistic Deputy Director, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Madrid, Spain, who will lead the organization together with a renewed Board of 14 international museum professionals representing CIMAM’s global community across more than 91 countries.

“It is a true honor serving as the president of CIMAM for the next three years. As a Board, we will seek to preserve and enhance the core values of CIMAM: diversity, solidarity, collective and critical thinking. Art museums and cultural ecosystems face nowadays enormous challenges and threats; therefore, CIMAM should be a place where museums and professionals can discuss the present and future of institutions through imagination, commitment, and ethical principles. At the same time, CIMAM should be a place of understanding, sharing, and togetherness," states Amanda de la Garza Mata, President of CIMAM 2026–28.

The new Board will guide CIMAM’s strategic direction and programs for the next three years, strengthening its mission to foster dialogue, ethical leadership, and sustainability in the field of modern and contemporary art museums.

The 14 elected members of the CIMAM Board (2026–2028) are:

• Zeina Arida, Director, Mathaf - Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar
• Raphael Chikukwa, Executive Director, National Gallery of Zimbabwe Harare, Zimbabwe
• Doryun Chong, Artistic Director and Chief Curator, M+, Hong Kong.
• Joselina Cruz, Director and Curator, Museum of Contemporary and Design (MCAD), Manila, Philippines.
• Tatiana Cuevas, General Director, Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáeno (MUAC), Mexico City, Mexico
• Amanda de la Garza Mata Deputy Artistic Director, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Madrid, Spain.
• Elvira Dyangani Ose, Director, Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), Barcelona, Spain
• Shabbir Hussain Mustafa, Chief Curator, Singapore Art Museum Singapore.
• Clara M Kim, Chief Curator & Director of Curatorial Affairs, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles, USA.
• Sunjung Kim, Artistic Director, Art Sonje Center, Seoul, South Korea.
• Pablo Lafuente, Artistic Director, Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Chus Martinez, Head, Institute Art Gender Nature Basel, Switzerland.
• Stephanie Rosenthal, Director, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
• Kamini Sawhney, Artistic Director, Public Arts Project, BLRHubba, Bengaluru, India.

Together, they will oversee CIMAM’s key programs, including the Annual Conference, the Travel Grants, the Museum Watch, Sustainability in Museum Practice, the Outstanding Museum Practice Award, and the Rapid Response Webinars, ensuring that the organization continues to serve as a global forum for museum professionals.

Suhanya Raffel Appointed Honorary Member of CIMAM

During the General Assembly, Suhanya Raffel, Director of M+ in Hong Kong, a member of the CIMAM Board since 2016 and President of CIMAM 2023-25, was appointed Honorary Member of CIMAM. 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. Individuals are awarded the title of Honorary Members by the General Assembly. They shall be full voting members.

Next CIMAM Annual Conference: Harare, Zimbabwe. 20-22 November 2026

In Turin, CIMAM also announced the dates of the 58th Annual Conference, which will take place in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 20 to 22 November, organized and hosted by the National Gallery of Zimbabwe.

The 2026 Conference will mark the first CIMAM Annual Conference held in Africa, continuing the organization’s commitment to global representation and exchange.

“Africa’s contribution to the global modern and contemporary art can be understood from its own context by coming to Zimbabwe CIMAM Annual Conference 2026. Coming to Zimbabwe CIMAM Annual Conference 2026 offers an opportunity to reflect and understand each other in the African soil.” Raphael Chikukwa, Executive Director, National Gallery of Zimbabwe

Outstanding Museum Practice Award 2025

Also announced in Turin were the 2025 CIMAM Outstanding Museum Practice Awards (OMPA), granted to the Museo Barda del Desierto (mBDD) in Northern Patagonia, Argentina; the Bergen Kjøtt Foundation in Bergen, Norway; and The Palestinian Museum in Birzeit, Palestine. Each of these institutions was recognized for their clearly intentioned and impactful practices that reinforce the core values and purposes of museums through creative collaboration with museum professionals, communities, artists, and the public.

Stay with us for the term 2026-28!

Call to CIMAM members to renew their Memberships 2026–28! All memberships expire at the end of December 2025. Don't wait to renew your membership. Your renewal helps ensure that the network stays robust, that museum voices from every region continue to be heard, and that we can collectively respond to emerging challenges and foster innovation within the contemporary art field.

• Renew your membership
• Apply to join as an Individual
• Apply to join as an Institutional
• Support CIMAM, join our Patrons' Program

To join CIMAM's Patrons' Program, please get in touch with any member of the CIMAM Board, or with Inés Jover, Executive Director of CIMAM at inesjover@cimam.org