by Marc Balcells
After
five years of meeting annually in beautiful Amelia, it is a fait accompli that ARCA’s conference is
an established forum that reunites researchers and practitioners alike for the
discussion of the latest advances in research on art crimes and cultural
heritage protection. The good health of the conference year after year and the
positive outcomes and feedback received year after year are motives of
celebration; however, if there is a real moment for celebration in the
conference is in the afternoon of the first day, when we award four
outstanding persons regarding their efforts in saving and protecting cultural
heritage.
This
year’s award winners were Christos Tsirogiannis, an archaeologist
conducting research in illicit antiquities trade at the University of Cambridge
and former member of the Hellenic Ministry of Justice; Duncan Chappell, Professor
in the Faculty of Law at the University of Sydney; Blanca Niño Norton, Consultant
at the Petén Development Project for the conservation of the Maya Biosphere
Reserve, depending from the Ministry of Environment of Natural Resources, and
member of ICOMOS (the International Council on Monuments and Sites) and ICCROM
(the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of
Cultural Property); and Sharon Cohen Levin, Chief of the Asset Forfeiture Unit
in the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
Dr.
Edgar Tijhuis, professor at the Postgraduate Program and a trustee of the
organization, introduced Mr. Tsirogiannis’ award, on art protection and
security. The awarded presented on his work, based on the illicit trade of
looted archaeological goods. His presentation became an interesting and
valuable who’s who of the characters of the gran
razzia that happened recently in Italy: names like Marion True, Giacomo Medici, Robin Symes or Christos Michaelides became pivotal points of Mr. Tsirogiannis’ presentation,
compiling stories of pieces recuperated by Italian law enforcement worldwide.
Ms.
Lynda Albertson, ARCA’s CEO, presented the Eleanor and Anthony
Vallombroso Award for Art Crime Scholarship to Dr. Duncan Chappell, who heartily
thanked the organization for the honor bestowed upon him. Dr. Chappell greatly
deserves this award, as he has written extensively on the topic of art crime
from a criminological perspective. To everybody, but especially to us criminologists,
his work is invaluable. He has written articles for ARCA’s Journal of Art Crime, and along with Stefano Manacorda edited Crime in the Art and
Antiquities World: Illegal Trafficking in Cultural Property (Springer 2011).
I
had the honor to present the Lifetime Achievement in Defense of Art to Mrs.
Niño Norton. A true contemporary renaissance woman (besides being an architect
she is a sculptor and a painter), Mrs. Niño Norton delivered a presentation
based on Guatemala’s different forms of cultural heritage, its threats, and the
different projects she spearheads for its protection, which range from
architecture to the copying of Guatemalan statues in the middle of the jungle
(so the originals can be properly preserved in cultural institutions) or the
restoration of looted tombs by locals.
Finally,
HRH Ravivaddhana Sisowath, Prince of
Cambodia, introduced the Art Policing and Recovery Award to Mrs. Sharon
Cohen Levin; and accordingly, provided Mrs. Cohen Levin’s office fights for the
10th-century Khmer statue that Sotheby’s hopes to sell at
auction. Mrs. Cohen Levin presented on art related asset forfeitures in recent
cases she has dealt with. In her very lively presentation, the awarded
prosecutor showed to the audience important cases like the forfeiture of the Portrait of Wally, by Egon Schiele,
along more original cases like the prosecution of dealer Eric Prokopi and the
forfeiture of… a dinosaur!
In
sum, a feast for the arts, and a celebration for all of us who care about the
protection of cultural heritage. These awards are small tokens to great works
of love done by even greater people. Congratulations!
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