Málaga, June 13, 2024. CM Málaga, Culture and Museums International Tech Forum, will celebrate its fourth edition with a 50 percent growth compared to last year, achieving an exhibition area of over 2,600 square metres. Over 200 companies and entities from the cultural and technological sectors will be represented, with a hundred having a presence in the exhibition area. Notably, 75 percent of them will feature a strong technological profile, alongside universities, public institutions, associations, and foundations. The event will take place at FYCMA (Trade Fairs and Congress Center of Málaga) on June 17th and 18th.

CM Málaga is one of the most important professional events in the sector, oriented towards technology companies that serve the cultural sector, offering a wide range of services and tools that are transforming the traditional concept of museums, heritage, and cultural disciplines, as well as management, communication, and consumption models. Within its exhibition space, it will feature a ‘Tech Demo Area,’ providing a 360º view of technological advancements in the cultural field, offering professionals the opportunity to test the most innovative and cutting-edge solutions currently available.

In this area, attendees can engage in immersive experiences such as interacting with artistic works through Newtonlab Space; the ‘Legacy Project’ that reconstructs Spanish heritage in the Pacific from the 16th to the 19th century using the latest augmented reality and web 3D technologies by Isostopy; testing an advanced facial motion capture tool, Faceware, to turn users into digital avatars creating metahumans like Leonardo Da Vinci or Martin Luther King, or exploring Velázquez’s studio where he painted ‘Las Meninas’ through WebAR (web augmented reality) to better understand the artist’s creative process.

One of the key aspects that make CM Málaga a crucial meeting point for museum and cultural industry professionals is the global vision acquired by both the companies and participating entities. A total of 16 countries from around the world, including the USA, the Netherlands, Qatar, France, Canada, and Italy, will be represented in an edition that stands out for its international character, also thanks to the workspace created for the international delegation promoted by Andalucía TRADE. This delegation includes professionals from prestigious institutions such as the Louvre Museum, Musée d’Orsay, the Louis Vuitton Foundation, the British Museum, the Van Gogh Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, Qatar Museums – Qatar Auto Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of Fine Arts of Québec, Interpol, Jameel Arts & Health Lab/World Health Organisation, Club Innovation & Culture CLIC France, Ars Electronica Center, Veneranda Biblioteca (Pinacoteca) Ambrosiana, the Vatican Museums, and the Rijksmuseum.

CM Málaga is widely endorsed by the sector due to the participation of around fifty national and international museums and cultural entities, including the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze, the Museum of the Moving Image in New York, the Prado Museum, and the Colosseum Archaeological Park, among others, who will be present in various activities within the programme.

An international programme to analyse the future of museums and culture

CM Málaga programme features over 100 global leaders in the cultural and innovation industries who will participate in various content areas. Notable figures include Angelica Pujia, senior officer and conservator of the Colosseum Archaeological Park (Rome, Italy); Cecilie Hollberg, director of the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze (Italy); Hélène Vassal, director of Collection Support at the Louvre Museum (Paris, France); Leo Ballate, CTO of the Museum of Modern Art – MoMASF (San Francisco, USA); Paula Loreto Granados, digital curator and head of Operations at the British Museum (London, UK), and Tiziano Coiro, coordinator of the Artworks Unit at Interpol (Lyon, France).

One of the event’s most significant activities will be the ‘IV International Symposium on New Trends in Digital Humanism in Museums and Cultural Organisations,’ led by Lucía Ybarra and Rosina Gómez-Baeza, founders of the consultancy YGBART. This symposium will address aspects related to the innovative use of digital tools, specifically reflecting on issues such as the technical automation of museums and cultural centres, data processing, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity in a dynamic and changing context.

Additionally, the ‘III International Technical Conferences for Cultural and Technological Sector Professionals’ will take place, aiming to debate, inspire, and work with pioneering technologies, ideas, and projects from professionals who stand out for their innovative activities to promote sustainable development and social well-being. Thematic panels will cover topics such as the benefits of art and culture for health, the potential of collaborative networks, creativity in developing virtual worlds, the transformative power of culture, and sustainability in this field, among others.

New this year, CM Málaga will host the International Seminar ‘Museums, Tourism, and Innovation. Towards a Sustainable Future,’ which will address current issues regarding the close relationship between museums, tourism, and sustainable development, with innovation as the guiding theme. The International Seminar ICOM Spain-ICOM Europe is co-financed by the Feder Andalucía 2021-2027 Programme and the Andalusian Government.

Additionally, the event will feature a programme of specialised workshops aimed at enhancing the training of professionals in the cultural field on topics such as gamification in culture, artificial intelligence applied to art publishing, neuroscience for studying the positive impact of art, or big data and digitisation in museums. These specific workshops will be implemented to generate interprofessional networking and provide a practical workspace on various themes related to innovation and video games.

CM Málaga programme content is complemented by five call promoting different areas of the sector. Thus, the Culture and Historical Heritage Area of the Malaga City Council, in collaboration with 42 Málaga Fundación Telefónica, promotes the Ideathon ‘Culture in Code: Transforming Culture through Technology.’ The goal of this activity is to drive digital transformation and foster new business opportunities for Malaga’s cultural agents by addressing technological challenges posed by digitalisation in the cultural field.

The ‘III Open Call for Start-ups,’ aims to give national and international visibility to companies with disruptive projects for the cultural ecosystem, creating a global community that promotes and consolidates the growth of this segment based on technological innovation, and improves the competitiveness of cultural companies through original strategies.

The ‘EXPONE Awards,’ promoted by the Association of Museologists and Museographers of Andalusia, celebrate their fourth edition to encourage best practices and innovation in museums and exhibitions.

Furthermore, this year sees the introduction of the ‘Award for Innovative and Sustainable Design for Museum and Cultural Institution Shops.’ This initiative aims to highlight the talent of designers, illustrators, and artisans who create products and services for museum and cultural institution shops, as well as their ability to attract new audiences.

Another new call is the ‘International Augmented Urban Art Competition,’ organised by Aedas Homes. The goal of this competition is to integrate the traditional values of art with the new digital era, focusing on the innovative social concept of the ZETA district.

CM Málaga is organised by FYCMA (Trade Fairs and Congress Center of Málaga), from the Malaga City Council, together with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sport of the Andalusian Government, with the support of Diario Sur. The event is also supported by the Areas of Innovation, Digitisation and Investment Attraction, and Culture and Historical Heritage of the Malaga City Council. Acción Cultural Española and Andalucía TRADE – Business Agency for Transformation and Economic Development of the Andalusian Government participate as institutional partners. Gnoss is the technological partner, and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport of the Government of Castilla y León through AR&PA, EulenArt, Fundación Unicaja, and Reale Seguros are Golden partners. The International Seminar ICOM Spain-ICOM Europe is co-financed by the Feder Andalucía 2021-2027 Programme and the Andalusian Government.

Collaborating entities include Apuntes de Arte, the Spanish Association of Museologists (AEM), the Association of Museographers and Museologists of Andalusia (AMMA), the Peru Chamber of Commerce in Spain (CCPE), the City of Arts and Sciences, the Official College of Telecommunications Engineers of Eastern Andalusia and Melilla, the Club Innovation & Culture CLIC, Encuentra Arte Málaga, the Spanish Federation of Friends of Museums, Fundación Contemporánea, Fundación Rafael Pérez Estrada, the Institute of Contemporary Art, ICOM Spain, the Institut Cerdà, Málaga TechPark, Museum Connections Paris, the Multimedia Technologies and Digital Content Platform, the Network of Museums and Digital Strategies, the University of Malaga (UMA), YGBART Advising and Management, and 42 Málaga.

More information is available at www.cmmalaga.com, and on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.