IKT, the International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art, announces its 2026 Congress, taking place from May 1 to May 5, 2026, across Turin and Milan.

Bringing together an international network of 80-100 curators, museum leaders, cultural producers, and researchers, the Congress will offer a dynamic platform for exchange, critical reflection, and the exploration of the evolving role of curatorial practice within today’s rapidly shifting cultural landscape.

Structured as a five-day, dual-city program, the Congress will activate two of Italy’s most vibrant cultural ecosystems through a curated series of institutional visits, studio tours, site-specific experiences, and public conversations. By fostering direct engagement with artists, organizations, and local contexts, the program emphasizes the importance of place-based knowledge while encouraging meaningful international dialogue and collaboration.

Central to the 2026 edition is a focus on the conditions that shape contemporary cultural production—from technological transformation to shifting economic models and the growing impact of private and philanthropic funding. Within this framework, the Congress will include the

IKT Symposium 2026, hosted by Deloitte, and dedicated to examining the future of art philanthropy and its influence on what kinds of art and culture are made visible today. Co-convened by curators and researchers Denis Maksimov and Adina Drinceanu, the symposium, entitled Art Philanthropy: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, will bring together curators, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and institutional representatives to explore how funding structures are redefining artistic production. As public funding declines and cultural systems become increasingly corporatised, the symposium will address the urgent need for new models of support capable of sustaining diverse, experimental, and critically engaged practices.

The Congress will open on May 1 in Turin with a special inaugural event developed in collaboration with Blackdove and EDIT Porto Urbano, reflecting IKT’s commitment to cross-disciplinary exchange and innovation at the intersection of art, technology, and urban culture. As part of the opening program, an exhibition entitled INFINITY showcasing works by artists such as Beeple, Xcopy, Beryl Bilici, Annibale Siconolfi, and a live act by RKH, curated by Turin-based curator Karin Gavassa, will be unveiled and remain on view through May 31.By bridging Turin and Milan, the IKT 2026 Congress highlights the richness and diversity of Italy’s contemporary art landscape while creating a framework for sustained international exchange. The Congress reaffirms IKT’s role as a vital platform for curators worldwide to engage with urgent questions, share knowledge, and collectively shape the future of contemporary art.

For more information, please visit: https://www.iktsite.org/congress-2026

Congress Itinerary

Friday, 1 May

18:00–20:00 Welcome reception, EDIT Porto Urbano (Murazzi del Po Gipo Farassino, 15, 10124 Torino)

Saturday, 2 May

Breakfast at leisure

8:30 Bus pick-up Piazza Vittorio Emanuele

9:00 -10:00 Visit OGR - Officine Grandi Riparazioni

10:30 -11:30: Visit Fondazione Merz

12:00 -13:00: Visit Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo

13:30 - 15:00 Visit Gallerie d’Italia - Torino & Light lunch

15:30 -17:30 Walking tours (Torino Centro), three itineraries

• Itinerary 1: MAO (Museo d’Arte Orientale), Persano, Weber and Weber

• Itinerary 2: Exposed Festival locations and Turin galleries, CAMERA (National Center for Photography)

• Itinerary 3: Casa Museo Carol Rama, Nat. Museum of Cinema

18:00 – 20:00 Visit Re-Contemporary and visit Private Collection (two groups switching)

Evening at leisure

Sunday, 3 May

Breakfast at leisure

8:30 Bus pick-up Piazza Vittorio Emanuele

9:30 - 11:00 Visit Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea

11:15 Bus to Porta Susa Train Station

12:30 Train to Milan

14:30–17:00 General Assembly, Sala Bassetti, Brera Academy

17:15–18:00 Visit digital exhibition, Palazzo Citterio

18:30–20:00 Walk and metro to French Place, visit and welcome reception cocktail

20:15 Individual Hotel or Airbnb check-in (metro or taxi)

Monday, 4 May

Breakfast at leisure

08:30–12:30 Symposium at Deloitte: Art Philanthropy: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, at Deloitte (see outline below)

13:00–14:00 Lunch at Deloitte

14:30–15:30 Metro to MEET Museo Digitale

15:45–16:30 Walk and visit to Fondazione Rovati

17:00–18:15 Walk and visit to PAC (Padiglione Arte Contemporanea)

18:45–20:00 Walk and visit to Advant NCTM studio, followed by cocktail reception

Tuesday, 5 May

08:30 Bus or metro to Hangar Bicocca

09:00–11:00 Breakfast and visit at Hangar Bicocca (bus or metro to Circolo)

12:00–13:30 Light lunch and visit at CIRCOLO

14:00–15:30 Fondazione Prada (by metro)

15:45–17:30 Walk to ICA, visit exhibition

18:00–19:00 Viafarini.work artist studios (via Marco d'Agrate 33)

Evening at leisure

Congress ends

Wednesday, 6 May (Optional / Independent Travel)

Delegates will travel independently from Milan to Venice at the end of the Congress to attend the preview days of the 61st Venice Art Biennale (6–8 May 2026).

While in Venice, delegates will have the opportunity to attend private events and openings of exhibitions and projects curated by IKT members. View the Post-Congress Programme in Venice

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Symposium - Art Philanthropy: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Monday, 4 May 2026 | 08:30 – 12:30 CET
Deloitte Auditorium & Deloitte Gallery (Via Santa Sofia 28, 20122 Milan, Italy)

Co-conveners: Denis Maksimov and Adina Drinceanu, Future of Art Philanthropy initiative

The history of art philanthropy spans millennia. Artists have relied on private donors and the state for support for centuries, even before the state became involved. While both actors had their own agendas, the balance between state and market, and the wealthy, fostered diversity and innovation in arts and culture. However, with the corporatisation of art and culture against the backdrop of ongoing austerity policies, the state’s withdrawal from the field has led to a shift towards more homogeneous, market-friendly forms of art. In this context, the role of art philanthropists becomes increasingly crucial. The pressing question is how curators, artists’ vision champions, and art philanthropists can work together to address the sensitive issue of funding. This ensures that diverse, rich, and innovative art and culture remain produced. We will explore the practical models of funding and support for innovative contemporary art curators who are pushing the boundaries of art and culture making. 

The keynote address will be given by Suheyla Takesh, an art historian and Director of the Barjeel Art Foundation. The Foundation is one of the leading organisations of the Gulf region with a specific focus on alternative modernisms and the role of women-artists in South Asian art history. She oversees curatorial and scholarly initiatives to expand the visibility and critical engagement with modern and contemporary Arab art through exhibitions, research and publication projects. Founded by the philanthropist Sheikh Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, The Barjeel Art Foundation is at the forefront of questioning European art historiographies of modernism and avant-garde and building bridges between the institutions in the Global South. Takesh will also address the construction of the new museum in Sharjah. 

The first panel, chaired by Denis Maksimov, will feature Lekha Poddar, Rajeeb Samdani, and Andrea Rurale and explore the state of art philanthropy now. Lekha Poddar, the founder of Devi Art Foundation, will present her outstanding work in India, which covers the restoration of cultural heritage and the introduction of South Asian contemporary art in a dialogue with the rich artistic traditions in the region. Her practice has ignited the interest in contemporary art practice in the region for many philanthropists, including Rajeeb Samdani, who will speak about his ongoing commitment to support artists and provide wider access to their work to the public. Together with his wife, Nadia Samdani, he established the Samdani Art Foundation, the biannual Dhaka Art Summit, and Srihatta–Samdani Art Centre and Sculpture Park in order to promote Bangladesh and South Asia’s contemporary artists and architects. Professor Andrea Rurale, the director of the Intensive Programme in Arts Market and Finance at Bocconi University, will reflect on the institutional and infrastructural specificities of philanthropic activities in the present. 

The second panel, chaired by Adina Drinceanu, will bring together Nadja Argyropoulou, Vladimir Yavachev, and Bérénice Antoinette Robaglia to examine strategies for ‘producing culture’’ under the strain of the current context and its limitations. Nadja Argyropoulou, curator and artistic director of the 9th Thessaloniki Biennale Everything Must Change, will reflect on philanthropy as a ‘collective body’ and the ethical and operational challenges of carrying out the curatorial concept in a polarised and resource-constrained environment. Vladimir Yavachev of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation will discuss the artists’ distinctive approach to creative autonomy, highlighting a self-directed system of project financing and large-scale production that enabled ambitious interventions to unfold independently of institutional or market pressures. Bérénice Antoinette Robaglia of FAMM (Female Artists of Mougins Museum), founded by the collector and philanthropist Christian Levett, will explore how private initiatives can amplify historically underrepresented voices, mobilising collectors, curators, and communities to align diverse stakeholders in pursuit of shared cultural objectives.

At large, the Symposium inquires how curators, artists’ advocates, and art philanthropists can work together to address the politics of funding while ensuring that rich, diverse, and experimental art and culture continue to thrive. It will map the current state of art philanthropy in the early 21st century, outline possible futures, and present practical models of funding and support for contemporary art curators working at the forefront of cultural innovation. Organised under the umbrella of the Future of Art Philanthropy initiative, the Symposium is a step towards a larger conversation about the implications of ‘producing culture’ in the contemporary context. The initiative will stage the events, symposia, dialogues, and public programmes with the aim to consolidate the expertise, know-how, and innovative ideas into a Reader as well as build the community of like-minded art and culture producers and supporters. 

PROGRAMME

09:00 – 09:20 
Welcome and Introduction: Why Invest in Art and Culture?
by Denis Maksimov and Adina Drinceanu (FAP), Alfredo Cramerotti (IKT) with interventions by Roberta Ghilardi (Deloitte) and Valerio Galli (Innextart).

09:25 – 09:40 
Keynote 
The Case of Barjeel Art Foundation
by Suheyla Takesh.

09:45 – 10:30 
Panel 1: The State of Art Philanthropy
with Lekha Poddar, Rajeeb Samdani and Andrea Rurale moderated by Denis Maksimov.  

10:30 – 10:45
Coffee break

10:45 – 11:30
Panel 2: Strategies for “Producing Culture”
with Nadja Argyropolou, Vladimir Yavachev and Bérénice Antoinette Robaglia moderated by Adina Drinceanu.

11:30 – 11:50 
Closing Reflections and Q&A