National Gallery Singapore (NGS) will host the 2017 conference of the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art (Cimam) on Nov. 10-12. It will be the first time Cimam will be holding its annual conference in Southeast Asia.

Conference will gather more than 200 museum directors, curators and professionals from all over the world.

Theme of the conference is “The Role of Museums in Civil Society.” Sub-themes are: “Art and the City: From Local to Transnational? (what artists, museum professionals and citizens can do to activate the public’s consciousness and how they contribute to identify problems)”; “Relearning Southeast Asia (how can the region further inform our understanding of art institutions)”; “What do Museums Collect, and How? (the roles and responsibilities of the museum with respect to collecting art: how do museums determine what is ‘relevant’?).” “Theme of this year’s conference is particularly timely in this global climate of upheavals and uncertainty,” said Eugene Tan, NGS director and Cimam board member.

NGS will organize a pre-conference tour of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on Nov. 8-9 and a post-conference tour of Jakarta and Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Nov. 13-15. –CONTRIBUTED

Visit www.cimam.org.