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The International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art (CIMAM) has announced that the Palestinian Museum has won the CIMAM 2025 Outstanding Museum Practice Award for its exhibition “Gaza Remains the Story,” in recognition of its role in redefining the function of museums as spaces of persistence and resistance and in reinforcing Palestinian cultural memory amid ongoing war and destruction.
The Palestinian Museum dedicates this award to beloved Gaza and to the steadfastness of its people, whose resilience inspires them.
The award was announced in Turin, Italy, during the annual CIMAM conference, held from Nov. 28 to 30, 2025, with the participation of representatives from leading modern and contemporary art museums around the world.
In its statement, the jury noted, “At a time of growing global challenges, the Palestinian Museum presents a model of resilience and creativity, affirming that a museum can be an active force in upholding humanity and resisting erasure.”
Museum spaces expanded into a global, borderless network that extends far beyond its galleries, reaching any place that welcomes the Palestinian narrative.
Since the museum's launch, it has been showcased in over 230 locations across 48 countries, in settings ranging from museums, universities, and cultural institutions to cafes—and, in some cities, even the streets themselves.
This open model allows supporters of the Palestinian cause, as well as cultural and educational institutions and individuals, to host the exhibition free of charge and bring it into their communities, expanding participation and deepening understanding of the historical, political, and cultural contexts shaping the Palestinian experience.
Each new display becomes an extension of a growing network of solidarity and a continuation of the Palestinian narrative in every hosting space.
Since its launch, “Gaza Remains the Story” has received more than 250 hosting requests from institutions, community initiatives, and individuals across more than 48 countries and has already been implemented in over 230 venues through its open digital format.
Maher Qaddoura, the visionary and sponsor behind the museum’s model, said the award proves “we can create something far bigger than ourselves,” adding that the Micro Museum began as a belief that the Palestinian story should be told with dignity, creativity, and truth.
For his part, Palestinian Museum Director Amer Shomali said the exhibition supports the museum’s vision to expand its global presence through traveling exhibitions that reach Palestinian communities and their supporters worldwide.
He said that only in this month, museum exhibitions reached multiple cities and cultural venues, including “Gaza Remains the Story” in over 10 spaces around the world, “Thread Memory: Embroidery from Palestine” in Dundee, “The Dice Player,” a contribution to the exhibition “Sillah” in Sharjah, “Glimmer of a Grove Beyond” in Canada, “A Museum Without Borders” in Nazareth, and “To Tell My Story” in Spain.
The Outstanding Museum Practice Award, presented by CIMAM, is one of the leading global honors in the museum sector.
It highlights initiatives that generate structural transformation within contemporary museums and redefine their roles and relationships with the communities they serve.
Established in 2021, the award focuses on practices that embody innovation, enhance public accessibility, support sustainability and foster meaningful connections between museums and their communities.
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