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Association for Research into Crimes against Art

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Association for Research into Crimes against Art
AbbreviationARCA
Formation2009 (2009)
FounderNoah Charney
TypeNGO
Websitewww.artcrimeresearch.org

The Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) is a non-governmental civil society organisation (CSO) that conducts scholarly research and training within the discipline of combatting cultural property crime.[1] Established in 2009 with the aim of exploring the gaps in the international legal framework which addresses art and antiquities crimes. ARCA was founded by Noah Charney, an art and art crime historian, as well as a published author.

Internationally recognized as an agency working in the highly specialized field of art crime research, ARCA's affiliate researchers have been interviewed in the press and asked to provide commentary on criminal incidents affecting the art market as well as to comment on incidences where art crimes overlap with other criminality such as: money laundering, organized crime, and terrorist financing.[2]

The Association's work has also been documented by governmental and non-governmental institutions as a useful resource in further understanding and interpreting art crimes. To do so, ARCA also maintains cooperative relationships both intergovernmental and non-governmental through cooperation agreements with international organizations, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), and the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Observatory of Illicit Traffic.[3][4][5]

History and activities

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ARCA was established in 2009 with the aim of exploring the gaps in the international legal framework which addresses art and antiquities crimes, ARCA was founded by Dr. Noah Charney, an art and art crime historian and author.[6][7]

One of the earliest volunteer-driven forums of its kind, the Association focuses on bringing together experts from diverse art, archaeology, criminal justice, and law backgrounds to collaborate and share knowledge, research, and resources, with the intent to better analyze and address the nuances of cultural property crime more efficiently. Its goals include raising awareness and fostering dialogue concerning the complexities of transnational cultural property-related crimes including its etiology, prevention, and control. It also seeks to demonstrate how stolen art objects, as well as looted cultural items, may be a source of profit which fuels other crimes.[citation needed]

International advisory

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In March 2018 ARCA was invited to participate at UNESCO's Paris Headquarters for their Category 6 expert committee meeting and conference in order addressed to engage the European art market and sensitize relevant stakeholders to the implications of illicit trafficking of cultural property – from the consequences regarding the protection of cultural heritage to terrorism financing and money laundering.[8] In 2023, addressing an audience of diplomats, policymakers, and stakeholders from attending a United Nations event organized by the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), ARCA spoke on the topic of emerging trends relating to the destruction of cultural heritage and illicit trade of cultural property, and their linkages with terrorism.[9]

Criminal justice advisory

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ARCA's research has been acknowledged to have supported law enforcement and public prosecutor efforts in the protection of cultural heritage and in upholding the rule of law. In one notable public case, the Association's work was accredited by the State of New York - District Attorney's Office in Manhattan for having provided assistance in the Grand Jury Investigation into the private New York antiquities collector Michael Steinhardt regarding his acquisition, possession, and sale of antiquities which constituted stolen property under New York law. This acknowledgement is public record, and available via the New York Courts.[10]

ARCA also serves as an advisory for Operation Pandora, an annual European police operation which is carried out in the framework of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT). Launched in 2016 to target the illicit trafficking of looted or stolen cultural goods in circulation in the European market, this multi-country police action is coordinated by Europol, Interpol and the World Customs Organization and utilizes experts working in the field of art crime research, including the Association's forensic analysts, who help law enforcement agencies by facilitating the identification of illicitly trafficked art.[11][12]

In furtherance of their outreach goals, researchers whose work has been supported by ARCA have identified a number of looted or stolen cultural property in circulation within the legitimate art market.[13][14] They have also drawn attention to fraudulent art schemes involving US dealers who falsify an object's provenance record in order to launder illicit antiquities.[15]

Training

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Since 2009 the Association has offered a professional development Postgraduate Certificate Program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection consisting of eleven courses held annually over the course of one summer in Amelia, Italy.[16] In 2017 the Association began a second in person initiative, providing advanced and introductory provenance research training courses, in partnership with the Holocaust Art Restitution Project.[17]

During the stringent COVID-19 lockdowns in Italy, ARCA created a grouping of online training courses, in keeping with health and safety regulations designed to reduce transmission of the virus. During this period, the Association offered online courses were highlighted by The International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) as being "useful, accurate, and up to date topics on the subject of art crime and cultural heritage protection."[18]

ARCA has also provided bespoke training in partnership with UNESCO via the agency's Heritage Emergency Fund in 2018 in Beirut, Lebanon. [19] From 15 to 18 March 2021 ARCA provided training modules for Twenty four Customs officers from Eastern and Central Europe who took part in a virtual specialized PITCH (Preventing Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Heritage) training, organized jointly by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).[20]

Sponsorship and outreach

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When funding is adequate, ARCA has sponsored the documentation and exploration of new methodologies, approaches and interactions which underscore art and antiquities crime and steps towards its mitigation. In 2012 the Association awarded its 2012 Writer's Residency to Dr. Laurie Rush, a US-based archaeologist, and Cultural Resource Manager, working at Fort Drum whose work with the military advocates for Cultural Property Protection as a force multiplier in stability operations. During her summer residency with ARCA, the Association introduced the officer to officers working with Italy's Carabinieri art crime police unit, who in turn authorised the first book of its kind, in English, highlighting the work carried out by the Italian military's Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Property.[21]

Since 2010 the Association has hosted its eponymous international art crime conference in Amelia, Italy, an event geared towards academic researchers, provenance researchers, law enforcement officials, museum professionals, legal experts and public prosecutors grappling with ethical and legal complexities of art and antiquities crime and cultural property protection.[22]

In 2016 a weekend-long conference forum highlighted the concept of Cultural Rights and Value Education.[23][24] In 2018, this event emphasized art crimes which had occurred during incidences of asymmetrical warfare in the Middle East and supported the presence and presentations of archaeologists working within the conflict zones of Syria and Iraq.[25] More recently, in 2023 an ARCA-affiliated forensic researcher was appointed to serve on the international panel of experts tasked with assisting the British Museum's recovery project, aimed at recovering artefacts stolen from the British Museum.[26][27]

Publications

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ARCA has published the peer-reviewed Journal of Art Crime (JAC) on a biannual basis since 2009, which is geared toward interdisciplinary academic articles related to art and antiquities crimes, their investigation and long term repercussions. Some of this journal's articles represent the first publication of forensic work conducted by leading art crime-focused archaeologists who work to track and identify looted antiquities in circulation in the art market.[28] The JAC also highlights "cold cases", some of the lessor seen work of law enforcement investigators who often are restricted from commenting on investigations until long after a case investigation has been closed.[29]

Subject to paywall, the JAC is available to subscribers in paper and ePaper format as well as through university digital research lending platforms with access to the HeinOnline Law Journal Library.[30] The JAC may also be accessed via the Metropolitan Museum of Art's library collection, and the regional interlibrary loan system known as UBorrow.[31]

ARCA also hosts an art crime blog which provides free opensource access to scholars, law enforcement professionals, museum curators, and the general public on issues related to cultural property crime and the organization's activities. Geared at providing an understanding of the complexities of art crime and its broader implications for society, the Association has produced more than 2000 articles since 2009 on topics ranging from provenance, to looting, and illicit trafficking, to forgery, vandalism, and iconoclasm.[32][33]

In the media

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In 2021, ARCA's work was highlighted in two film documentaries one originating the United States and the other in the UK. The first "Lot 448", was directed by Bella Monticelli and premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival as part of the film festival's Female Trailblazers film series.[34] Focused on highlighting females working in traditionally male roles, the film highlighted one of ARCA's forensic researchers who gathered evidence in an attempt to stop the auction of a looted Etruscan antefix and to returning the artifact back to its country of origin.[35][36] The second documentary was produced by TIWI for SkyArts and is titled Art Traffickers - Treasures Stolen From the Tombs. This documentary features commentary from an ARCA researcher discussing the historic looting and plunder conducted by some of Italy's notorious antiquities trafficking networks.[37]

Notes

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  1. ^ Kila, J.D. (2012). Heritage under siege: military implementation of the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property. Brill. p. 57. ISBN 978-9004215689.
  2. ^ Kingston, Tom (12 August 2023). "Sicilian crime boss reveals the mafia's role in the illicit antiques trade". The Times. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  3. ^ "UNESCO Partners". UNESCO. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  4. ^ "The 1995 UNIDROIT Convention Academic Project - Facilitating the Study of the UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects". UNIDROIT. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Association for Research into Crimes Against Art". ICOM - Observatory of Illicit Trafic. International Council of Museums - ICOM. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  6. ^ Povoledo, Elisabetta (21 July 2009). "A Master's in Art Crime (No Cloak and Dagger)". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  7. ^ Marzán, Clarissa (12 October 2010). "Art investigator Noah Charney talks art crime". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Engaging the European Art Market in the Fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property" (PDF). UNESCO. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Addressing the linkages between the destruction and illicit trafficking of cultural property and terrorism: scope of the threat and responses to the phenomenon (2023 Counter-Terrorism Week Side-Event)". The United Nations Web TV. The United Nations. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  10. ^ "In the Matter of a Grand Jury Investigation into a Private New York Antiquities Collector - Michael Steinhardt Statement of Facts" (PDF). New York District Attorney's Office. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  11. ^ Whiddington, Richard (10 May 2023). "An International Effort to Tackle Antiquities Trafficking Seized More Than 11,000 Stolen Artifacts Across Europe Last Year". ArtNet. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  12. ^ Toebosch, Theo (13 March 2024). "Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden is opgelicht bij de aankoop van een gestolen grafbeeldje uit Soedan". NRC. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  13. ^ "London Police return stolen 12th century Buddha statue to India on I-Day". Times of India. Times of India. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  14. ^ D’Monte, Darryl (10 October 2018). "Meet the amateur art sleuth who is helping India recover its stolen antiques". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  15. ^ Klein, David (3 October 2020). "For Arrested NYC Antiquities Dealer, Illegal Trade is Family Business". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  16. ^ Mödlinger, Marianne (21 November 2017). "ARCA's Postgraduate program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection". Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  17. ^ Bartley, Jane (2022). "Accessing Continuing Education for Provenance Research" (PDF). 16th Annual Society of American Archivists (SAA) Research Forum Proceedings.
  18. ^ "ARCA's eCourses". The International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  19. ^ Abdel-Ghafour, S. "UNESCO supports training to counter antiquities trafficking in the Mashreq". UNESCO. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  20. ^ "WCO and OSCE deploy a virtual PITCH training for the Eastern and Central European Customs". World Customs Organisation. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  21. ^ Rush, Laurie (2015). The Carabinieri command for the protection of cultural property: saving the world's heritage. Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1783270569.
  22. ^ O'Byrne, Robert (June 2015). "Art theft is nothing new--the 17th century saw churches across Italy robbed of their Raphaels, wrote R.W. Lightbown in 1963". Apollo Magazine Ltd. Apollo. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  23. ^ Bulut, Ibrahim. "ARCA Hosts 2016 Amelia Conference". International Foundation for Cultural Property Protection. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  24. ^ Koush, Alesia. "Looking for Justice: Art Crime Interdisciplinary Conference in Amelia, Italy". Center for Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  25. ^ "Experts Investigate World Art Crime in Amelia". Italian Academy Foundation. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  26. ^ "Update on the progress of the recovery programme" (PDF). The British Museum. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  27. ^ "British Museum steps up recovery plan for stolen jewellery". Antiques Trade Gazette. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  28. ^ Mashberg, Tom (31 July 2017). "Ancient Vase Seized From Met Museum on Suspicion It Was Looted". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  29. ^ Noakes, Taylor C. (6 September 2022). "50 years after major Montreal art theft, trail has gone cold and nobody's talking". CBC Canada. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  30. ^ "Journal of Art Crime". HeinOnline Law Journal Library. HeinOnline. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  31. ^ "Rare Books in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries - The Journal Of Art Crime". The Met Watson Library Digital Collections. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  32. ^ Kinsella, Eileen (17 October 2023). "Established New York Dealer Revealed as Antiquities Trafficker in Ongoing U.S. Probe to Identify and Return Stolen Cultural Artifacts". ArtNet. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  33. ^ "Art & Cultural Heritage Law Research Guide". Florida State University. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  34. ^ "Bvlgari & Tribeca Film Festical – Double World Premiere". YouTube. Bvlgari & Tribeca Film Festical – Double World Premiere. February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  35. ^ Hughes, Rebecca (9 February 2021). "Lot 448: The Race To Recover Italy's Looted Etruscan Treasures". Forbes. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  36. ^ Riefe, Jordan (5 February 2021). "Art Crime Expert Lynda Albertson Talks Lot 448 Documentary". Art & Object. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  37. ^ "Art Traffickers - Treasures Stolen From the Tombs". IMDB. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
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