The Kernochan Center for Law, Media, and the Arts at Columbia Law School, the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield, and the New York chapter of the Responsible Art Market Initiative (of which I am co-chair with Birgit Kurtz) have organized an event on March 1, 2024 to be held at Columbia Law School entitled “Protecting Cultural Property: The 1954 Hague Convention at 70.”
Panelists and moderators include Pippa Loengard, Executive Director of the Kernochan Center; Jane Levine, Managing Partner of The ArtRisk Group; Professor Patty Gerstenblith, DePaul University College of Law, and many others. The symposium will assemble scholars and practitioners to consider the legacy of 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, the 25th, Anniversary of its Second Protocol, and the 15th, and the Anniversary of U.S. Ratification. I will speak on a panel about the market response. The final schedule and lineup will be out soon, but the working agenda is as follows (all times EST). Registration is now open here. Thanks to Thompson Hine, my colleagues at Sullivan & Worcester, and the ArtRisk Group for supporting as well.
9:00 Check-in
9:30 Welcome remarks on behalf of USCBS, CLS, and RAM
9:40 Session 1: Overview of the Legal Framework for Protection of Cultural Heritage during Armed Conflict and Q&A
Moderator: Jane Levine
Presenter: Patty Gerstenblith
10:30 Break
10:45: Session 2: “Around the World” Updates on the Status of Cultural Heritage during Armed Conflict and Natural Disaster
Moderator: Pippa Loengard
Commentators: Sudan: Solange Ashby, UCLA (armed conflict)
Turkey: Õmür Harmansah, University of Illinois, Chicago (earthquake)
Ukraine: Roksolana Makar, Ukranian Heritage Monitoring Lab (armed conflict)
Afghanistan: Fahim Rahimi, National Museum of Afghanistan (armed conflict)
Guatemala (Central America): Samuel Franco Arce. Culture Rescue Center, Guatemala (natural disaster)
U.S. Actions to protect cultural heritage in armed conflict: Cori Wegener, Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative
12:15 Lunch Break
Lunch generously supported by U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield
1:30 Session 3: Market Panel: How Can and Should the Market Respond to Looting and Thefts During Armed Conflicts and Natural Disasters
Moderator: Cathy Kaplan
Presenter: Jane Levine
Commentators: Lucian Simmons, SVP, Vice Chairman, Global Head of Restitution and Senior Specialist, Global Fine Arts, Sotheby’s
Nicholas O’Donnell, Sullivan & Worcester LLP
Birgit Kurtz, Responsible Art Market Initiative – RAM
2:45 Break
3:00 Session 4: Cultural Heritage, Indigenous and Minority Communities, and Human Rights
Moderator: James Reap, USCBS
Speakers: Federico Lenzerini, Prof. International Law and Human Rights University of Siena
Brian Daniels, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Anthropology
4:15 Closing Remarks
