CIMAM 2026 Travel Grant Beneficiaries
CIMAM is pleased to announce the names of the 42 modern and contemporary art museum directors, artistic directors, curators, and researchers from 26 countries who have been awarded travel grants to attend CIMAM’s 58th Annual Conference, which will take place in Harare from November 20–22, 2026.
CIMAM is profoundly grateful to the institutions and individuals whose generous support has made this year’s Travel Grant Program possible:
- Getty Foundation, Los Angeles, USA (Lead Sponsor)
- Instituto Cáder de Arte Centroamericano (ICAC), Madrid, Spain
- Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (CPPC), New York, USA / Caracas, Venezuela
- Guimarães Rosa Institute (IGR), Brazil
- Eloisa Haudenschild, La Jolla, California, USA
- Aimée Labarrere de Servitje, Mexico City, Mexico
- Cav. Simon Mordant AO and Catriona Mordant AM, Sydney, Australia / Italy
- Saastamoinen Foundation, Helsinki, Finland
- Mercedes Vilardell, Mallorca, Spain / London, UK
- Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Manila, Philippines
→ Learn more about CIMAM’s 2026 Travel Grant Funders
Check the list of the 42 CIMAM Travel Grant beneficiaries attending the Annual Conference:
Getty Foundation, Los Angeles, USA (Lead Sponsor):
- Alsu Akhmetzyanova, Independent Curator, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- John Alexis Balaguer *, Independent Curator and Lecturer, University of the Philippines - Diliman, Metro Manila, Philippines
- Priya Chauhan, Associate Curator, Museum of Art & Photography, Bengaluru, India
- Lia Beatriz Colombino, Curator, Centro de Artes Visuales/Museo del Barro, Asunción, Paraguay
- Paola Farran, Director, mmag foundation, Amman, Jordan
- Hama Goro, Director, Centre Soleil d'Afrique, Bamako, Mali
- Luna Hapsari, Co-Founder and Independent Curator, Banda Artepelago Art Space, Malang, Indonesia
- Sabo Kpade, Writer, Curator and Researcher, Lagos Biennial, Lagos, Nigeria
- Sharmini Pereira, Chief Curator, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka, Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Ng'onga Silupya, Curator, Zambia National Visual Arts Council, Lusaka, Zambia
- Alia Swastika, Independent Curator, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
- Rafael Tamayo, Director, Medellin Museum of Modern Art, Medellin, Colombia
- Puja Vaish, Director, Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation, Mumbai, India
- Ivana Vaseva, Curator, National Institution Museum of Contemporary Art, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
- Natalija Vujosevic *, Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro
- Chloe Yano, Founding Member, Create Belau, Koror, Palau
Instituto Cáder de Arte Centroamericano (ICAC), Madrid, Spain:
- Mayra Alejandra Cabezas, Curator, El Salvador Pavilion - 61st Venice Biennale, Antiguo Cuscatlan, El Salvador
- Karon Corrales Quiñonez, Curator and Co-Director, LL Proyectos. Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (CPPC), New York, USA / Caracas, Venezuela:
- Silvia Benedetti, Independent Curator and Art Writer, Caracas, Venezuela
Guimarães Rosa Institute (IGR), Brazil:
- Carolina Rodrigues de Lima, Chief Curator, Museu Bispo do Rosario Arte Contemporânea, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Ana Roman, Artistic Superintendent, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, Brazil
Eloisa Haudenschild, La Jolla, California, USA:
- Shanika Perera, Curator, Public Programmes, Geoffrey Bawa Trust, Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Pilar Rios, Curator of Collections, Museo de Arte de Lima, Lima, Peru
- Natalija Vujosevic *, Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro
Aimée Labarrere de Servitje, Mexico City, Mexico:
- Monica Amieva, Researcher, Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
- Abril Castro Prieto, Curator and Coordinator of the Visual Arts Department, Museo Universitario del Chopo, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
Cav. Simon Mordant AO and Catriona Mordant AM, Sydney, Australia / Italy:
- Aline Ambrosio, Curator and Researcher, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil
- Tinashe Hwindingwi, Director, Abantu Archives, Harare, Zimbabwe
- Ogechukwu Elizabeth Okpalanozie *, Assistant Director (Conservation), National Commission for Museums and Monuments, National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria
- Susan Awuor Oyieke, Exhibitions Developer, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
Saastamoinen Foundation, Helsinki, Finland:
- Desire Aine, Curator, Njabala Foundation, Kampala, Uganda
- Beata America, Assistant Curator, Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, South Africa
- Gcotyelwa Mashiqa, Curator, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Chaze Matakala, Researcher, The Women's History Museum of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
- Ogechukwu Elizabeth Okpalanozie *, Assistant Director (Conservation), National Commission for Museums and Monuments, National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria
- Christian Tchuisseu Nana, Director, Senior Curator and Art Advisor, Blackitude Museum, Art of God Gallery and ICOM Cameroun, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Mercedes Vilardell, Mallorca, Spain / London, UK:
- Philip Balimunsi, Curator, Uganda National Cultural Centre (UNCC), Wakiso, Uganda
- Obour Hashash, Public Engagement and Production Manager, The Palestinian Museum, Ramallah, Palestine
- Baha Jubeh, Curator, Palestinian Heritage Museum in Jerusalem, Hind Husseini Foundation (Dar Tifel al-Arabi), Jerusalem, Palestine
- Bhavisha Panchia, Curator, Nothing to Commit Records, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Puleng Plessie, Curator: Education & Public Programmes, Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
- Celestino Siane, Senior Curator, Matola Memorial Museum, Maputo, Mozambique
Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Manila, Philippines:
- Lara Acuin, OIC Chairperson Creative Industries Management, De La Salle College of Saint Benilde, Malate Manila, Philippines
- John Alexis Balaguer *, Independent Curator and Lecturer, University of the Philippines - Diliman, Metro Manila, Philippines
- Arianna Mercado, Independent Curator and Senior Lecturer, Department of Theory, College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines - Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
* These professionals have been co-funded by different Travel Grant Funders.
→ Meet the 2026 CIMAM Travel Grant Beneficiaries
CIMAM looks forward to welcoming these outstanding professionals and engaging in productive conversations that will help shape the future of museums around the world.
About the Travel Grant Program
Since its launch in 2005, CIMAM’s Travel Grant Program has promoted inclusivity and diversity within the international museum community, enabling professionals from countries with emerging and developing economies to participate in global debates, share perspectives and experiences, and strengthen their professional development through dialogue and exchange at the CIMAM Annual Conference and across CIMAM’s year-round programs. The 2026 grantees were selected by CIMAM’s Travel Grant Selection Committee:
- Clara Kim, (Chair of the Travel Grant Committee), Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles MOCA, Los Angeles, United States of America
- Raphael Chikukwa, Executive Director and Chief Curator, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
- Joselina Cruz, Director and Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), Manila, Philippines
- Tatiana Cuevas, General Director, Museo Universitario Arte Contemporaneo (MUAC - UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico
- Pablo Lafuente, Artistic Director, Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Shabbir Hussain Mustafa, Chief Curator, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
- Stephanie Rosenthal, Director, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Kamini Sawhney, Artistic Director, Public Art Projects, BLR Hubba, Bangalore, India
About the 2026 Annual Conference in Harare
The 58th CIMAM Annual Conference will be held from November 20 to 22 in Harare, hosted by the National Gallery of Zimbabwe under the auspices of the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe, with the Higherlife Foundation as the Lead Sponsor, Generous Support from Mercedes Vilardell, and the Bouckaert Family Trust as Hosting Sponsor.
Titled Museums Beyond Limits: Imagining Repair Across Cultures, Ecologies and Knowledges, this year's conference proposes repair as a radical, plural, and ongoing practice grounded in relationality, care, and accountability.