Saturday, January 10, 2026 - 
ARCA,cultural heritage,Edgar Tijhuis,Ibrahim Bulut,museums,security
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ARCA,cultural heritage,Edgar Tijhuis,Ibrahim Bulut,museums,security
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Interview with Ibrahim Bulut, Senior Security Consultant and Museum Security Expert.
This series aims to offer future participants a personal glimpse into the people who teach with ARCA, the community around it, and what to expect in the coming year.
Thank you, Edgar. My name is Ibrahim Bulut, and I work as a Senior Security Consultant and Museum Security Expert. For more than two decades I have been involved in protecting museums and cultural institutions, increasingly focusing on how we can make security both effective and human‑centered.
I did not start in art crime directly. My early career in security began in large, complex environments, including retail and public spaces, where I learned how people actually move, behave, and sometimes try to bypass systems. Over time I became more and more drawn to cultural heritage: objects and places that carry stories, identity, and memory. When you see how devastating a single theft, act of vandalism, or fire can be—not just financially but emotionally for a community—it is difficult to walk away from that responsibility.
My involvement with ARCA grew out of that commitment. I was invited to contribute my practical experience in museum security to ARCA’s Postgraduate Certificate Program, where I now teach on museum safety and security and on how to design security as an integral part of a site, rather than an afterthought. For me, ARCA is a place where practice, policy, and research genuinely meet.
You have been part of ARCA’s community for some time. Have you attended the annual Amelia Art Crime Conference or previous summer programmes?
Yes, I have been part of ARCA’s community for several years, both through teaching and by participating in the Amelia Art Crime Conference. Coming to Amelia is always a special moment: you arrive in a small Umbrian town, but for a weekend it becomes a global hub for art crime and cultural heritage protection.
One of my memorable moments was a panel where practitioners and researchers openly discussed the tension between reactive and proactive security. We spoke very frankly about what went wrong in real cases—where alarms were ignored, where procedures were unclear, where technology was installed but not understood. That honesty is rare. For future participants, I would say: expect a community where people are willing to share not only their successes, but also their mistakes, so that others do not have to repeat them.
From your perspective, what makes ARCA’s Program truly unique and valuable?
From my perspective, ARCA’s program is unique because it combines three elements that rarely come together in one place: depth, diversity, and community.
First, the depth: the program is intensive and focused. Participants do not just receive an overview of art crime; they live with the topic for an entire summer, engaging with specialists from law, criminology, security, provenance research, and museum practice. Second, the diversity of the cohort is remarkable—participants come from police forces, museums, academia, NGOs, insurance, and the art market. This means every discussion is multi‑layered.
Finally, there is a genuine sense of community. Because the program is residential and located in a small town, people really get to know each other. That network is what many alumni continue to rely on years later when they face a new case, a suspicious acquisition, or a difficult security decision in their own institution.
How does the location in Italy — surrounded by centuries of cultural heritage — enhance the learning experience for participants?
Italy is not just a beautiful backdrop; it is a silent co‑teacher in the program. You are surrounded by layers of history—from Roman remains and medieval walls to Renaissance churches and museums packed with objects that have been looted, restituted, stolen, and recovered over centuries.
For participants, this environment makes our discussions very tangible. When we talk about balancing access and protection, you can walk outside and see that tension in real time: open piazzas, crowded churches, small local museums with world‑class works. It also allows us to discuss not only spectacular crimes, but also everyday vulnerabilities—unlocked side doors, poorly documented collections, or underfunded regional institutions.
Being in Italy, with its strong Carabinieri heritage unit and long experience in fighting art crime, also reminds participants that cultural heritage protection is not an abstract debate; it is part of national identity and public policy.
Are there particular site visits or practical elements during your course that you find especially valuable?
In my own course, I find two types of practical elements particularly valuable.
The first are structured site walks and risk assessments. We visit heritage sites or use case‑study layouts and ask participants to look with a security practitioner’s eye: Where would you enter if you were a thief? Which barriers are real and which are only symbolic? Where does technology help, and where does it create a false sense of safety? This exercise often changes how people see buildings they thought they already knew.
The second are exercises based on the barrier model for art crime prevention: mapping all the steps a criminal needs to take—from planning and reconnaissance, to access, to extraction, to monetization—and then systematically identifying where we can raise barriers. For many participants, this model becomes a very practical tool they can later use in their own institutions.
As we look toward the 2026 program, which developments or emerging issues in the field of art crime do you consider particularly important, and how will these be reflected in your course?
Looking toward 2026, I see several developments that are particularly important for our field.
First, we are witnessing more targeted and sometimes very bold attacks on high‑value, compact objects such as jewellery and small masterpieces. Recent incidents, including high‑profile museum jewel thefts, have shown how quickly and professionally some of these operations are executed. Second, the line between physical and digital risk is fading: access control, CCTV, and collection databases are increasingly interconnected, which creates new opportunities but also new vulnerabilities.
In my course, we will address these issues in three ways. We will look at recent cases and deconstruct how they happened and what could realistically have been done differently. We will work with scenarios around insider threats and contractor access, which are often underestimated. And we will discuss how emerging technologies—analytics, AI‑assisted monitoring, mobile credentials—can support security without creating an illusion of total control.
What key skills, perspectives, or tools do you hope participants will gain from your course? In what ways can they apply these insights in their professional or academic paths?
I hope that participants leave the course with three main things: a structured way of thinking about risk, a concrete set of tools, and greater confidence in their own voice.
In practical terms, they should be able to conduct or support a basic security risk assessment for a museum or heritage site, translate that into layered measures, and communicate the priorities clearly to management, insurers, and technical partners. They will also be exposed to practical instruments such as barrier models, incident debrief templates, and simple checklists for projects involving construction, temporary exhibitions, or loans.
Equally important is perspective: I want participants to see that good security is not about turning museums into fortresses. It is about enabling safe access—protecting people, collections, and reputation in a way that still feels welcoming and respectful of the site’s character.
If someone is considering applying to ARCA’s 2026 program, what advice would you give them? And why do you think now is a meaningful moment to engage with this field?
My advice would be: if you feel a real curiosity about how art, law, crime, and security intersect, do not wait. This field benefits greatly from people who are willing to cross boundaries between disciplines and professions.
You do not need to arrive as a security expert or a seasoned investigator. ARCA’s program is designed to bring together different strengths—some participants know collections and archives very well; others come from policing, law, or risk management. What matters most is a willingness to engage critically and to question easy narratives about art crime.
Now is a particularly meaningful moment to enter this field. We see renewed geopolitical tensions, ongoing conflicts, climate‑related disasters, and an art market that remains vulnerable to money laundering and fraud. At the same time, there is growing public awareness and political interest in protecting cultural heritage. People who can connect these dots—between security practice, ethics, and cultural value—will be badly needed in the years ahead....
About Ibrahim Bulut
Ibrahim Bulut is a Senior Security Consultant and Museum Security Expert based in Belgium. He has more than twenty years of experience in the security field, with a particular focus on museums and cultural heritage institutions. Over the course of his career, he has worked with a wide range of museums, historic sites, and public authorities on topics such as access control, incident prevention, emergency planning, and the design of secure yet welcoming visitor environments.
In addition to his consulting and training work, Ibrahim frequently collaborates with heritage agencies, research networks, and professional associations on the prevention of art crime and the development of barrier models for theft and vandalism. He is regularly invited to speak at international conferences and in the media on museum security, including recent discussions around high‑profile museum jewel thefts and the protection of historic sites. At ARCA, he teaches on museum safety and security within the Postgraduate Certificate Program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection.
* Dr Edgar Tijhuis is Academic Director at ARCA and is responsible for coordinating ARCA’s postgraduate certificate programmes. Since 2009, he has also taught criminology modules within ARCA's PG Certification programming. To apply for the 2026 programmes, request a prospectus via the email below or contact Edgar Tijhuis for other questions.
📌 ARCA Postgraduate Certificate Programmes (Italy | Summer 2026)
• Post Lauream I (22 May – 23 June 2026): PG Cert in Art & Antiquities Crime
• Post Lauream II (26 June – 26 July 2026): PG Cert in Provenance, Acquisition & Interpretation of Cultural Property
➡️ Take one track—or combine both in a single summer.
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