Volvo-Sponsored "Museum Side by Side" Wins CIMAM Outstanding Practice Award, First in Korea

[Financial News] “Museum Side by Side,” a cultural accessibility program sponsored by Volvo Car Korea, has become the first museum program in South Korea to receive the Outstanding Practice Award from the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art (CIMAM). Its approach of enabling people with visual impairments and those without disabilities to experience exhibitions together through diverse senses has received international recognition. Following its support for mobility rights for children and teenagers with disabilities, Volvo Car Korea is expanding its corporate social responsibility efforts to improve access to culture and the arts.
Volvo Car Korea announced on the 18th that “Museum Side by Side,” operated in cooperation with The Purme Foundation and the Seoul Museum of Art, had received CIMAM’s “2026 Outstanding Practice Award (OMPA).”
The Outstanding Practice Award was established in 2021 to identify and share new roles for museums and examples of innovative practice. CIMAM, the organization behind the award, includes 350 museums and more than 1,000 museum professionals from 94 countries around the world.
“Museum Side by Side,” currently being held at Buk-Seoul Museum of Art, is designed to enable people with and without disabilities to experience exhibitions together and share different senses and perspectives. Rather than focusing solely on visual viewing, the program supports experiencing artworks through multiple senses.
CIMAM highly praised the program’s sustainability and potential for expansion. It highlighted the fact that the program is not a one-time event limited to a specific institution or region, but an operating model that other museums can adopt and develop according to their own circumstances.
Choi Eun-joo, director of the Seoul Museum of Art, said, "This award is especially meaningful because it shows that the new perspective on accessibility proposed by 'Museum Side by Side' has received international support." She added, "It has been valuable encouragement to continue the Seoul Museum of Art’s efforts to develop various ways of building relationships with society. We will continue to expand these practices in the future."
“Museum Side by Side” is a cultural accessibility program that has been operating since 2024. Beginning this year, Volvo Car Korea and The Purme Foundation have joined the Seoul Museum of Art in sponsoring and supporting the program.
Meanwhile, Volvo Car Korea has worked with The Purme Foundation since 2024 on support projects designed to expand opportunities for families of people with disabilities to enjoy culture and the arts. It has also provided customized assistive devices to safeguard the mobility rights of children and teenagers with disabilities for the 10th consecutive year since 2017.
[email protected] Kim Dong-ho Reporter