Category: Events and Conferences

"Cultural Heritage and African Art" at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford

This Saturday January 21, from 9.30-4.30 the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University will present the Ruth K. Franklin Symposium on the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Our topic will be “Cultural Heritage and African Art: Negotiating the Rise of Ethical and Legal Collecting Concerns.” More details and background are available here.

 The speakers are:

  •  George Okello Abungu, Ph.D., founding director, Okello Abungu Heritage Consultants, Nairobi, Kenya 
  • Derek Fincham, J.D., Ph.D., assistant professor, South Texas College of Law, Houston 
  • Kate Fitz Gibbon, J.D., attorney, Kate Fitz Gibbon Law Office, Santa Fe, N.M. 
  • Barbaro Martinez-Ruiz, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Art and Art History, Stanford University 
  • John Henry Merryman, J.D., LL.M., professor of law emeritus and affiliated professor emeritus in the Department of Art, Stanford University 
  • Sylvester Okwunodo Ogbechie, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of the History of Art and Architecture, University of California, Santa Barbara
I hope to post a few thoughts on the conference early next week, and if you are in the Bay Area I hope you’ll consider attending.
Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com

Call for Papers, SLSA Conference in Leicester

Janet Ulph and Charlotte Woodhead are looking for folks interested in contributing Themes at the SLSA Annual Conference next April in Leicester. Here are the details:
slsa-logoConvenors, Professor Janet Ulph ulphju13 “at” leicester.ac.uk University of Leicester and Charlotte Woodhead c.c.woodhead “at” warwick.ac.uk University of Warwick. 
This theme seeks to bring together discourse on the interface between, art, culture, heritage and the law. To this end papers will be welcomed concerning the legal and non-legal regulation of art, culture and heritage as well as the rights which exist in respect of these. Furthermore, participants may wish to engage in debates concerning the role played by morality in the context of preservation of the past and the need to curb the illicit trade in cultural objects. Papers may include, but are not limited to:
  • The de-accessioning or acquisition of objects from museums and other cultural institutions;
  • Legal protection of artistic works, the built environment and objects of cultural importance;
  • The illicit trade in cultural objects;
  • The relationship between property and culture;
  • Cultural rights and human rights;
  • Cultural institutions and the law;
  • Minority rights and interests relevant to culture and heritage;
  • Art and aesthetics and their relationship to law;
  • Cultural discourse on law; and
  • Law and humanities
Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com

"Participatory Stewardship" at the Menil

The Byzantine Fresco Chapel in Houston

Last Thursday I attended a terrific panel discussion at the Menil. It affirmed for me why cultural heritage offers such a rich area of study. It gives us an opportunity to think beyond who owns what and offers new ways of envisioning things like patent rights in the human body, the trade in works of art, stewardship, engineering design above and beyond contractual relationships, open source museums which can extend beyond cultural walls and bureaucracy, and the creative commons. As Rex Koontz, Director of the School of Art at the University of Houston noted, short of discussing pre-Columbian art, his area of focus, a conversation about heritage and stewardship is the most important conversation we could be having. The discussion touched on all these areas in exciting ways.

The moderator, Kristina Van Dyke facilitated the free-flowing exchange. She began the conversation by pointing out that artworks have lives and a offer us an opportunity for each visitor to “possess” them in a way. If I like to stand and absorb and really take in a work of art, I’ve created a connection with the work which might not be the same as ownership, but is in many ways a richer more fulfilling relationship. The starting point was the recent announcement that the Menil would return the Byzantine Mosaics which were on long term loan from Cyprus.

For those unfamiliar with the story, Dominique de Menil was offered the mosaics for sale in 1983. The pieces had been stolen from a small church in the Northern Turkish-controlled region of Cyprus. After consulting the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus Ms. de Menil purchases the mosaics, restored them, and they have been on display in a specially-constructed building near the Menil since 1997. Recently it was announced that this long-term loan will end and the mosaics will return to Cyprus. The acquisition, restoration and long-term loan of the mosaics offers lessons for the antiquities trade, and was a remarkable act of stewardship which eschewed the concept of permanent ownership and instead produced a collaborative relationship which benefitted the original owner—the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus—and also allowed Ms. de Menil to put the mosaics on display for many visitors to see. You can read more about the story at the Menil’s chapel website.

This was the starting point for the conversation which took on a number of interesting themes. Prof. James Leach from the University of Aberdeen offered his thoughts on property. He is an anthropologist who has worked in Papua New Guinea and he provided an overview of property theory, which he defined as the relationships among people with respect to things. Property in fact stands as a particular form of ownership, while other conceptions of property offer a richer and more meaningful way to foster relationships. In fact anthropology, and the law grudgingly, has begun to increasingly view property not as mechanical rights but as a complex web of interconnected relationships. This is an idea I’ve tried to think a lot about, and I wish I’d had the benefit of this exchange before I tackled the ideas of property and heritage. Before the event, the audience may have been skeptical that biomedical research, the legal relationships of Schlumberger and intellectual property would link up to heritage. But of course they do if you move beyond property and examine these problems through the lense of stewardship and conceive of property as a web of relationships.

Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com

Symposium on litigation and cultural property in Geneva

On November 11 at the University of Geneva the Art-Law Centre will organize a symposium titled “Litigation in cultural property: judicial and alternative means of international dispute resolution“. The event boasts a prestigious array of speakers, I’m sorry I’ll be teaching here in Houston. Here are the details:
Program 11.11.11(web)

Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com

Institute of Art and Law Events in New York and London

The Institute of Art and Law will be putting together a panel in New York on art recovery and later a “Study Forum” on Art and Antiquities Law in London. Both are highly recommended, and well-worth the small fees. Here are the details:



New York – 16th November
New Dimensions in Art Recovery –
a joint conference
convened by IAL and Herrick Feinstein LLP
Claims against possessors of art continue to proliferate. The impulse to unravel transactions in stolen art has inspired new legal maneuvers and defenses. While museums are obvious front-line defendants, the legal risks and ethical pressures also affect private collectors, governments, recovery agencies and insurers. They also provide unprecedented opportunities for claimants.
The aim of this seminar is to inform practicing lawyers and museum staff about initiatives that are being taken to diversify the practice of art recovery in a trans-Atlantic context. Eminent practitioners from the US and the UK will report on  approaches to litigation within each jurisdiction to highlight the differences and similarities between them.
London, Saturday 26th November 2011
At this Study Forum a panel of specialised speakers will examine aspects of the law relating to art and antiquities, including criminal law (theft, handling, money laundering, the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act), contract (formation, exclusion and limitation clauses), international conventions.
Further details available here or to reserve a place, click here or email us at info@ial.uk.com 
Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com

The Third Annual ARCA Conference Last Weekend

Neil Brodie, accepting his ARCA award 

This past weekend ARCA held its annual conference just off the medieval cloister here in Amelia, Italy. As part of the conference ARCA presents its awards to those whose research or work has made a contribution to the field of art and heritage protection. These are nominated by and voted on by ARCA’s Trustees and past award winners.

Two of our award winners were able to make it in person this year. Neil Brodie received an award for his scholarship. Neil joined ARCA for the first six weeks of the summer as a writer in residence, offering lectures to students and working on his next piece. But the highlight of the conference for me might have been the standing ovation the students gave him when he won his award. Neil has of course written extensively on the looting of antiquities and their eventual sale. He has conducted archaeological fieldwork and was the former director of the Illicit Antiquities Research Centre at the University of Cambridge. His terrific writing on the illicit trade in antiquities stands as a thoughtful and passionate cry for the preservation of a vanishing and finite resource.

Paolo Ferri

Paolo Ferri was also presented an award for policing and recovery. Dr. Ferri has been a prominent figure in the return of many looted antiquities from North American public and private collections. He now serves as an expert in international relations and recovery of works of art for the Italian Culture Ministry. This was Ferri’s first award for all of his work. The man who played such a large role in the return of so many beautiful antiquities to Italy had a quiet and direct manner and throughout the weekend was quick with a smile. He offered some interesting suggestions for future policy, including an International Art Court, but what struck me more than anything was his almost polite insistence for obeying legal and ethical principles. 


The other award winners who were unable to attend were Lord Colin Renfrew, and Prof. John Henry Merryman. 

Lord Renfrew has been a tireless voice in the struggle for the prevention of looting of archaeological sites, and one of the most influential archaeologists in recent decades. At Cambridge he was formerly Disney Professor of Archaeology and Director of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and a Senior Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. Prof. Merryman is a renowned expert on art and cultural property law who has written beautifully about art and heritage for many years. He currently serves as an Emeritus Professor at Stanford Law School. He adds this award to his impressive list of awards, including the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and honorary doctorates from Aix-en Provence, Rome (Tor Vergata), and Trieste. His textbook Law, Ethics, and the Visual Arts, first published in 1979 with Albert Elsen, stands as the leading art law text. His writings have shaped the way we think about art and cultural disputes, and have added clarity and rigor to a field he helped pioneer.

Joni on the left, during a break  on Saturday

It was a terrific conference thanks in large part to Joni’s terrific planning, and I hope she’ll forgive me for dragging her into this undertaking. Thanks as well go to the ARCA staff who worked very hard to make things run smoothly, all of the presenters, students and attendees. These folks made for a super weekend.


Many of these issues can quickly get contentious, but the weekend allowed for plenty of opportunities for discussion, polite disagreement, and conversation. Next year’s conference will likely be a few weeks earlier, in June, and I’m very much looking forward to it.





For those who are interested, the schedule of presentations is posted below the jump:






Friday, July 8th

7:00 pm Welcome Event: Cocktails at Palazzo Farratini

Saturday, July 9th (Sala Boccarrini)

8:00 am – Conference Registration
8:30 am – Opening Remarks

9:00 am – 10:30 am Harmonising Police Cooperation and Returns
9:00 am – 9:20 am Arthur Tompkins, “Paying a Ransom: The Theft of 96 Rare Medals and the Reward Payments”
9:20 am – 9:40 am Ludo Block, “European Police Cooperation on Art Crime”
9:40 am – 10:00 am Saskia Hufnagel, “Harmonising Police Cooperation in the Field of Art Crime in Australia and the European Union”
10:00 am – 10:20 am Panel Discussion and Questions from the Audience

10:20 am – 10:40 am Coffee Break

10:40 am – 12:00 pm Perspectives on Forgery and the Local Impact of Heritage Crime
10:40 am – 11:00 am Laurie Rush, “Art Crime; Effects of a Global Issue at the Community Level”
11:00 am – 11:20 am Duncan Chappell, “Forgery of Australian Aboriginal Art”
11:40 am – 12:00 pm Panel Discussion and Questions from the Audience

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Lunch Break and Snacks in the Cloister

1:00 pm – 2:40 pm Historical Perspectives on Looting and Recovery
1:00 pm – 1:20 pm Maria Elena Versari, “Iconoclasm by (Legal) Proxy: Restoration, Legislation and the Ideological Decay of Fascist Ruins”
1:20 pm – 1:40 pm Annika Kuhn, “The Looting of Cultural Property: A View from Classical Antiquity”
1:40 pm – 2:00 pm Elena Franchi, “Under the Protection of the Holy See: The Florentine Works of Art and Their Moving to Alto Adige in 1944”
2:00 pm – 2:20 pm Charlotte Woodhead, “Assessing the Moral Strength of Holocaust Art Restitution Claims”
2:20 pm – 2:40 pm Panel Discussion and Questions from the Audience

2:40 pm – 3:00 pm Coffee Break

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm ARCA Annual Awards
Neil Brodie
Paolo Ferri
Awards in absentia to Lord Colin Renfrew and John Henry Merryman

4:30 pm – 6:30 Writers of Art Crime
4:30 pm – 5:00 pm Vernon Silver
5:00 pm – 5:30 pm Fabio Isman
5:30 pm – 6:00 pm Peter Watson
6:00 pm – 6:30 pm Panel Discussion and Questions from the Audience

8:00 pm Gala Dinner at Locanda

Sunday, July 10th

8:30 am – 10:10 am Fresh Perspectives on Art and Heritage Crime
8:30 am – 8:50 am Leila Amineddoleh, “The Pillaging of the Abandoned Spanish Countryside”
8:50 am – 9:10 am Courtney McWhorter, “Perception of Forgery According to the Role of Art”
9:10 am – 9:30 am Michelle D’Ippolito, “Discrepancies in Data: The Role of Museums in Recovering Stolen Works of Art”
9:30 am – 9:50 am Sarah Zimmer, “The Investigation of Object TH 1988.18: Rembrandt’s 100 Guilder Print”
9:50 am – 10:10 am Panel Discussions and Questions from the Audience

10:10 am – 10:30 am Coffee Break

10:30 am – 11:30 am Cultural Heritage and Armed Conflict
10:30 pm – 10:50 pm Mark Durney
10:50 pm – 11:10 pm Larry Rothfield
11:10 pm – 11:30 pm Katharyn Hanson
11:30 pm – 11:50 pm Panel Discussion and Questions from the Audience

11:50 am – 12:10 pm Coffee Break

12:10 pm – 1:30 pm 40-year Anniversary of the 1970 UNESCO Panel
12:10 pm – 12:30 pm Catherine Sezgin
12:30 pm – 1 pm Chris Marinello
1:00 pm – 1:20 pm Panel Discussion and Questions from the Audience

1:30 pm End of the Conference

Presenters who were unable to attend:

Richard Altman, “Christie’s Failure to Accurately Attribute a Leonardo da Vinci Painting in 1997”
Ruth Redmond-Cooper, “Limitation of Actions to Recover Cultural Objects”
Norman Palmer 2009 ARCA Award Recipient
Phyllis Callina, “Historic Forgeries”

Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com

ARCA 2011 Annual Conference Call for Presenters, July 9-10 2011, Amelia Italy

Embedded below are the details for the 2011 ARCA annual conference in Amelia, Italy. Each of the past two years the conference has been a terrific event, and I encourage you to consider submitting a proposal to me at derek.fincham “at” artcrime.info.

Conference Announcement

Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com

Conference at Cardozo Law School, Mar. 31, 2011

A number of partners will be presenting a one day conference at Cardozo Law School on March 31 titled “On Restitution: from the Holocaust to the Haitian Earthquake“. The event is sponsored by the American Society of International Law, the Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation, the Art Law Society of Cardozo Law School, and the Hofstra Law School Art and Cultural Heritage Club invite professionals.

The conference welcomes “students and interested members of the public to join”. This would seem to be a very promising event. The program is posted after the jump.

PROGRAM
8:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
Welcome: Edward Stein Vice Dean, Professor of Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (New York, NY)

Civil Litigation to Secure Cultural Property as a Human Right
8:45 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. 

Introduction: Lucille A. Roussin, Director, Holocaust Restitution Claims Practicum, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (New York, NY)

Opening remarks: Allan Gerson, Chairman, AG International Law, PLLC (Washington, DC)

Nazi Era Looted Art: Research and Restitution
9:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.          

Lawrence M. Kaye, Partner and Co-Chair of the Art Law Group, Herrick, Feinstein, LLP (New York, NY)

Marc Masurovsky, Co-Founder of the Holocaust Art Restitution Project (Washington, DC)

Inge van der Vlies, Dutch Restitution Committee (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Lucian Simmons, Vice-President and Head of Restitution Department, Sotheby’s (New York, NY)

Moderator: Lucille A. Roussin, Director, Holocaust Restitution Claims Practicum (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law)

Natural Disasters: Haiti Case Study
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.            

Marci Hamilton, Professor and Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (New York, NY)

Corine Wegener, President, U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield (Washington, DC)

Moderator: Michael Herz, Arthur Kaplan Professor of Law and Director of Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (New York, NY)

Lunch
12:45 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.

Key Note Address 
1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.

Introduction: Lawrence M. Kaye, Partner and Co-Chair of the Art Law Group, Herrick, Feinstein LLP (New York, NY)

Key Note Speaker: Howard N. Spiegler, Partner and Co-Chair of the Art Law Group, Herrick, Feinstein LLP (New York, NY)

Libraries and Archives: Restitution of Recorded Cultural Heritage 
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Jeff Spur, Islamic and Middle East specialist, Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)

Nathan Lewin, Partner, Lewin & Lewin, LLP (Washington, DC) 

Patricia K. Grimsted, Senior Research Associate, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute and International Institute of Social History (Cambridge, MA/Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Moderator: Lynn Wishart, Associate Dean for Library Services, Professor of Legal Research, and Director, Law Library (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law)

Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act: A Sword and A Shield
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 

Stuart H. Newberger, Partner, Crowell & Moring LLP (Washington, DC)

Laina C. Lopez, Attorney, Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe, LLP (Washington, DC) 

Lisa Grosh, Deputy Assistant Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State (Washington, DC)

Mark N. Bravin, Partner, Winston & Strawn (Washington, DC)

Moderator: Jennifer A. Kreder, Professor of Law, Salmon P. Chase College of Law (Highland Heights, KY)

Closing Remarks:
5:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Jennifer A. Kreder, Professor of Law, Salmon P. Chase College of Law (Highland Heights, KY)

Reception
5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.            

Payment:

  • Professional Members of ASIL or LCCHP: $50
  • Other Professionals: $100
  • Student Members of ASIL, LCCHP, the Art Law Society of Cardozo, or Hofstra Law School Art and Cultural Heritage Club: $10
  • Other Students: $25

Corporate Sponsors:

  • Commission for Art Recovery
  • Herrick, Feinstein LLP

CLE Credits Available

Register here.

Questions or Comments? Email me at derek.fincham@gmail.com