The 2017 Annual Conference of the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art (CIMAM) will be hosted by the National Gallery Singapore, an ASEMUS member, and held in Singapore between 10 and 12 November 2017. A pre-conference tour to Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam (8-9 November) and a post-conference tour to Jakarta and Yogyakarta, Indonesia (13-15 November) are also planned. CIMAM is an affiliated organisation of the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The Annual Conference will look at The Roles and Responsibilities of Museums in Civil Society. Given the rising sentiments of populist nationalism that we are witnessing around the world, and extending from the focus of last year's conference in Barcelona (The Museum and Its Responsibilities), it is imperative that museums re-evaluate and re-examine their roles, their public functions and how they respond. The following questions will be raised:

• How can national museums and art museums counter this global phenomenon of xenophobia and populism, to connect a local public with regional and international histories, perspectives and concerns?
• How can museums continue to be effective forums in society where different communities and peoples of all backgrounds and beliefs still come together, instead of retreating into parochial isolation?
• At the same time the mission of CIMAM will also be considered: Who are CIMAM’s stakeholders? Who has vested interests, and what are the constituencies to whom we are responsible?

Confirmed speakers include: Ute Meta Bauer, Founding Director, NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore, Singapore; Chen Chieh-Jen, Artist, Taipei, Taiwan; Patrick D. Flores, Professor of Art Studies, University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines; Ade Darmawan, Artist, Curator and Director, ruangrupa, Jakarta, Indonesia; Gridthiya Gaweewong, Artistic Director, Jim Thompson Art Center, Bangkok, Thailand; Post-Museum (Jennifer Teo & Woon Tien Wei), Artists, Singapore; Donna De Salvo, Deputy Director for International Initiatives and Senior Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA; Adriano Pedrosa, Artistic Director, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, São Paulo, Brazil; Tiffany Chung, Artist, Vietnam/USA; and Suhanya Raffel, Executive Director, M+ Museum of Visual Culture, Hong Kong.

CIMAM's Travel Grant Programme

CIMAM offers around 25 grants to support the attendance of contemporary art museum professionals to CIMAM’s 2017 Annual Conference. Grants are generously supported by the Getty Foundation, MALBA–Fundación Costantini, the Fubon Art Foundation and Alserkal Programming. CIMAM’s Travel Grant Program supports individuals’ curatorial and research development through their attendance to the Annual Conference where the most current concerns on contemporary art practices are being discussed. Awarded candidates benefit from unique networking opportunities through interaction and exchange with international museum directors and peers including the mentorship of CIMAM Board Members throughout the conference days. Travel grantees become Members of CIMAM for the triennial they have been awarded. Grants are addressed to modern and contemporary art museum or collection directors and curators in need of financial help to attend CIMAM’s Annual Conference. Researchers and independent curators whose field of research and specialization is contemporary art theory, collections and museums are also eligible. Applicants should not be involved in any kind of commercial or for profit activity.

• The Getty Foundation, Los Angeles, supports 15 professional development grants to professionals from countries with emerging market and developing economies.
• MALBA-Fundación Constantini, Buenos Aires, supports 4 travel grants to professionals from Latin America or with more than 3 years of residency in Latin America.
• Fubon Art Foundation, Taipei, supports 2 travel grants to professionals from Taiwan.
• Alserkal Programming, Dubai, supports 2 travel grants to professionals from the Middle East and North Africa

Applications should be sent by 30 June. For additional information and access to application forms, please visit http://cimam.org/open-call-2017/