The Seoul Museum of Art announced that Parallel Views: Art in Conversation, an accessibility program developed by Buk-Seoul Museum of Art (Buk SeMA), has received the 2026 Outstanding Museum Practice Award (OMPA), presented by CIMAM, the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art.
 
This marks the first time that a Korean art museum has received the OMPA. The award is particularly significant as it recognizes the Seoul Museum of Art’s efforts to make cultural accessibility a core operational goal since 2020 and its continued development of related practices.
 
CIMAM is an international network of museums and collections of modern and contemporary art, bringing together 1,022 members across 94 countries as of the end of 2025.
 
Its Outstanding Museum Practice Award was established in 2021 to recognize innovative museum practices that can inspire the international museum community. The award highlights practices that respond to local contexts while addressing broader challenges facing museums and that can be adapted elsewhere.

Launched in 2024, Parallel Views: Art in Conversation is the Buk SeMA’s annual cultural accessibility program, bringing people with visual impairments and non-disabled participants together to explore exhibitions through conversation.
 
CIMAM recognized Parallel Views: Art in Conversation as a new model of inclusive museum practice in which people with and without disabilities experience exhibitions together and share different perspectives.
 
The committee also noted that the program has continued to evolve and offers a framework that other museums can adopt and adapt according to their own circumstances.

The 2026 OMPA ceremony will take place during the 58th CIMAM Annual Conference in Harare, Zimbabwe, from November 20 to 22, 2026.
 
Through related seminars and international exchange opportunities, SeMA will share the experience of Parallel Views: Art in Conversation with an international audience, including its background, its development over time, and its impact on the local community.
 
Choi Eunju, General Director of the Seoul Museum of Art, said, “Receiving the Outstanding Museum Practice Award is very significant in that it recognizes the way Parallel Views: Art in Conversation has approached accessibility. It is also a valuable encouragement for the Seoul Museum of Art to continue its efforts to explore diverse ways of engaging with society. We will continue to expand these practices in the future.”

References

• 서울시립미술관 보도자료 (Seoul Museum of Art Press Release)