Sustainable Futures: How? When? For Whom?
The 56th CIMAM Annual Conference in Los Angeles to explore
Sustainable Futures
How? When? For Whom?
Under the rubric of sustainable futures, the 2024 CIMAM Annual Conference addressed the subject of sustainability from an integrated and holistic perspective, beginning with our desire to respond to climate change by reassessing our policies around collection care and conservation; rethinking the buildings we occupy and the cities we are part of; while also exploring innovative models for economic sustainability and community building.
The members of the CIMAM 2024 Contents Committee announced the title and abstract of the CIMAM 2024 Annual Conference that was held in Los Angeles from December 6 to 8, 2024.
Sustainability is one of the most important words in the public arena. How are museums putting into practice?
The CIMAM Conference brought together an international roster of museum directors, curators, architects, artists, and visionaries who are transforming the field. Through keynote speeches and panel format presentations and discussions, the conference engaged colleagues at the forefront of the field who are thinking anew about the intersection of museological practice, climate/social change and contemporary art, and forging new models of sustainable practice in the cultural sector. Artists are central to this change—in pushing the conventions by challenging notions of what is 'collected' and 'preserved'; in re-defining the possibilities of art in relation to community engagement; and in centering indigenous perspectives and belief systems that fundamentally question the proscribed definitions of art as well as our relationship to nature and ecology.
In the field of modern and contemporary art, CIMAM offers professionals a platform to speak openly and candidly about the state of the field, about the status of museums and cultural organizations within the sea change of political events and social movements, climate emergency and a global pandemic that has radically altered the world we live in. In this context, museums and cultural spaces today are having to reckon with and redefine our place within society at large, reimagining our functions, values and responsibilities in relation to realities we live in.
Sustainable Futures
How? When? For Whom?
The 2024 Annual Conference addressed key questions such as: How do museums navigate the tensions of the ongoing cycles of crisis and change? What does it mean in the context of art institutions? How are museums putting it into practice? And how do we acknowledge different contexts, cultures and economies?
The conference also explored the sustainability of economic and financial infrastructures, looking to new and innovative funding models through case studies of social impact philanthropic initiatives and ambitious, artist-led projects. It will also consider the challenges we face today in the inherited models of the American non-profit system and publicly-funded state-supported institutions of Europe–as we seek to balance public good and private interests.
Crucially, the conference foregrounded the importance of indigenous worldviews in discussions about the intersection of art, ecology and practice, providing spaces to think about sustainability as community-led, custodianship versus ownership and intellectual and philosophical frameworks for what a museum can be.
PST ART: Art & Science Collide
The conference's content aligned with Southern California’s landmark arts event PST ART, which returns in September 2024 with more than 60 exhibitions from museums and other institutions across the region, all exploring the intersections of art and science, both past and present. Dozens of cultural, scientific, and community organizations will join the latest edition, PST ART: Art & Science Collide, with exhibitions on subjects ranging from ancient cosmologies to Indigenous sci-fi, and from environmental justice to artificial intelligence. PST ART is a Getty initiative. Conference delegates will have specially organized tours and the opportunity to engage with artists and curators participating.
The CIMAM Conference is proud to have the Getty Foundation as its lead supporter, underscoring its shared commitment to advancing dialogue and innovation within the cultural sphere.
Post-Conference Tour to the desert on December 9 and 10, 2024
Following the main event, conference delegates are invited to participate in a post-conference tour from December 9 to 10th. This immersive journey will explore the art and architecture of the Palm Springs, Joshua Tree, and High Desert regions, offering insights into the intersection of art, culture, and nature amidst the backdrop of California's breathtaking desert landscapes and extreme climate conditions.
The post-conference tour to the desert is made possible through the support of Desert X, Sunnylands Center & Gardens, High Desert Test Sites, Visit Greater Palm Springs, and Palm Spring Art Museum.
CIMAM 2024 Contents Committee
The CIMAM 2024 Annual Conference is conceived and organized by the Content Steering Committee made up of:
- Clara Kim (Chair of the Contents Committee), Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.
- Suzanne Cotter, Director, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney.
- Joselina Cruz, Director/Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) Manila.
- Amanda de la Garza, Artistic Deputy Director, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (MNCARS), Madrid.
- Rita Gonzalez, Terri and Michael Smooke Curator and Department Head Contemporary Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles.
- Aram Moshayedi, Interim Chief Curator, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.
- Kitty Scott, Strategic Director, Fogo Island Arts / Shorefast, Toronto.