CIMAM OMPA 2024 Awardees to Be Featured at The Best in Heritage 2025
CIMAM is delighted to announce that two winners out of three of the Outstanding Museum Practice Award (OMPA) 2024 have been invited to present their work at The Best in Heritage 2025, a global conference featuring award-winning museum, heritage, and conservation projects, which will take place in Barcelona from 22–24 October 2025.
We are thrilled to see that the practices recognized by CIMAM’s OMPA program continue to inspire the international cultural sector. Their invitation to this prestigious forum ensures that the dialogue on how museums can respond to their specific contexts and connect with people, highlighting the social value of museums and their crucial contribution to the sustainable development of our communities.
Featured at #TBIH2025
Winner of the CIMAM Outstanding Museum Practice Award 2024
Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro
Practice: Inclusion
The Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio) is a leading institution for art and culture in Brazil. Founded in 1948, it holds one of the most significant collections of modern and contemporary art in Latin America, with more than 16,000 works. Its mission rests on a triad of art, education, and culture. Throughout its history, MAM Rio has staged exhibitions that shaped Brazil’s artistic languages and hosted movements that transformed the country. Its Cinematheque, with extensive audiovisual collections and a dedicated screening room, is one of the key centers for film preservation and appreciation in Latin America. MAM Rio is organized as a non-profit civil society institution of public interest, supported by individuals and companies.
Presented by: Shion L., Educational Coordinator, MAM Rio. Shion L. is a researcher and educator. At MAM Rio, she develops and manages teaching programs, residencies, courses, and projects. She holds a BA in Art History from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), complemented by international training and residencies. Her practice bridges education and curatorship, with research focused on gender studies, semiotics, and dissident pedagogies. She has collaborated with museums and independent initiatives in Brazil and abroad to advance methodologies that unite education and curatorial practice.
Featured at #TBIH2025
Winner of the CIMAM Outstanding Museum Practice Award 2024
Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art
Kyiv, Ukraine
The Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts houses Ukraine’s most significant collection of world art, with masterpieces spanning European, Asian, and ancient cultures. Historically dedicated to classical art, the museum had limited engagement with contemporary practice. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, however, it has become a beacon of resilience—safeguarding its collection while pioneering new methodologies: exhibitions with Ukrainian artists, opera performances, architectural workshops, and critical debates on the role of museums in war. Internationally recognized for its wartime initiatives, the Khanenko Museum demonstrates the essential role of cultural institutions in heritage preservation and in serving society during crisis.
Presented by: Yuliya Vaganova, Director General, Khanenko Museum of Art. Yuliya Vaganova leads the Khanenko Museum through the unprecedented challenges of wartime. Under her direction, the team protected collections, reopened to the public, and launched innovative programming in the midst of crisis. When a Russian missile strike severely damaged the museum building, she guided emergency conservation and public reopening efforts. Vaganova previously held senior positions at Mystetskyi Arsenal and the National Art Museum of Ukraine.
The Best in Heritage 2025 takes place in Barcelona, 22–24 October 2025.
Visit the conference programme and registration page here.
Discover the projects that earned these institutions the OMPA 2024 recognition: