ICOM IN COLLABORATION WITH UNESCO
The Official ICOM-UNESCO art directory
Artifacts, Antiques, Art; registration and verification platform
Verification
ICOM’s Code of Ethics for various Museums is the golden standard!
Museums & Neuroscience
Museums and Chill – How I know what I know: museum and neuroscience
Artifacts, Art work registration
ICOM has been UNESCO's cultural database for Artwork verification since 1972.
Register and verify artifacts
Call for articles ICOM voices
The ICOM website serves as a communication platform for museum- and heritage-related projects, experiences and discussions about the sector. It promotes themes that are at the heart of the museum’s mission today such as sustainability, heritage protection, intangible heritage and working conditions for museum professionals.
About Us
ICOM Museum definition
In Prague, on 24 August 2022, the Extraordinary General Assembly of ICOM has approved the proposal for the new museum definition with 92,41% (For: 487, Against: 23, Abstention: 17). Following the adoption, the new ICOM museum definition is:
Agenda
upcoming Events
International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art - Online
The conservation of musical heritage in museums and institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean
International Committee on Ethical Dilemmas
IC ETHICS Conference – 27 October
International Committee for University Museums and Collections
UMAC conference (August 29 - 31, 2023)
– “Truth-telling through university museums and collections” – 29-31 August 2026
International Committee for Conservation - Valencia, Spain
ICOM-CC conference – Working towards a sustainable past – 18-22 September 2025
International Museum Day - 2025
Each year since 1977, ICOM has organised International Museum Day, which represents a unique moment for the international museum community.
Why Choice Us
ICOM/UNESCO research & publication
Publication
ICOM’s publications provide a platform for the development of expertise and knowledge in the museum field. ICOM’s publications include a peer-reviewed journal and research book series. ICOM’s Committees also regularly publish journals, books, e-newsletters and more.
ICOM Information Centre
Created in 1948, the ICOM Documentation Centre is managed by the Secretariat.
- Collections held at ICOM headquarters
- Access to the ICOM Information Centre
- Off-site collections
Sustainability
Museums are perfectly positioned to address and enhance sustainability as they are able to work with communities to raise public awareness, support research and knowledge creation to contribute to the well-being of the planet and societies for future generations.
Museums and Inclusion
Proactively addressing inequalities and exclusion becomes essential for museums when fulfilling their mission to serving society.
ICOM’s training workshops and activities promote and encourage capacity building for museum professionals
Heritage protection
Red Lists
- Red List of Afghanistan Antiquities at Risk
- Red List of Cambodian Antiquities at Risk
- Red List of Chinese Cultural Objects at Risk
Emergency Preparedness and Response
- Adaptation to local populations and environment specificities;
- Implementation of regional networks and coordination with National Committees.
Intangible Heritage
- INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE AND MUSEUMS PROJECT (IMP)
- INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTANGIBLE HERITAGE
Copyright
Online library
ICOM’s Online Library gives you access all the resources of the ICOM Documentation Centre
The result of the work of several generations of documentalists since 1948, but for a long time reserved for them alone, the ICOM Online Library is now directly consultable by everyone, in its entirety, in the three official languages of ICOM. It contains, first of all, all the publications of ICOM and its network of International Committees, National Committees, Regional Alliances and Affiliated Organisations since their creation, but also a large number of references to books, reviews, articles, guides and manuals, directories, conference proceedings, studies and reports in the fields of interest to ICOM, such as the protection of endangered heritage, the fight against illicit trafficking in cultural property, the social role of museums, education and ethics.