Conference - Second AHRC Workshop | Art, Crime and Criminals: Art, Crime and Criminals: Painting Fresh Pictures of Art Theft, Fraud and Plunder

Organised by: Professor Duncan Chappell,  Dr. Saskia Hufnagel and Ms. Marissa Marjos.

Date: January 16, 2017

Location: Royal United Services Institute for Defence & Security Studies (RUSI)
61 Whitehall
London, United Kingdom

Workshop Fees: None, but registration is required 

Following the success of the first workshop, this second workshop aims specifically at discussions in the area of art fraud and forgeries. The following (third) workshop will focus on looting and iconoclasm (September 2017, Berlin, Ministry of Finance). 

All workshops will be structured around a number of presentations by prominent actors in the field, but the main parts are discussions around the topic between all participants.   

The aim of the workshop series is to encourage interdisciplinary research, cross-jurisdictional sharing of knowledge and exchange of ideas between academics, practitioners and policy makers. Practitioners will be invited from various backgrounds, such as, police, customs, museums, galleries, auction houses, dealerships, insurance companies, art authenticators, forensic scientists, private security companies etc.  

The proposed network not only aims at bringing the different players together, but also establishes a communication platform that will ensure their engagement beyond the three workshops. Organisations invited to the 2nd workshop include: The Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA), Metropolitan Police, German Police (LKA Berlin), Hong Kong Police, Europol, Authenticators and Art Experts, The Art Loss Register, Art Recovery International, Private Policing Sector, Victoria and Albert Museum (Security), National Gallery, Historic England, Artists/Forgers, Insurance Sector, Journalists, Association of Chiefs of Police, MPs, Academics from various disciplines, Art Dealers and many more.

Workshop 2 will focus specifically on the subject area of art fraud and forgery. In an international art market that is currently reaching record levels of pricing and unprecedented levels of speculative sales and investment the incentives for art fraud and forgery have never been higher. Among questions to be addressed will be:

1. What is the prevalence of this type of crime?
2. Who are the principal participants?
3. To what extent are existing regulatory mechanisms effective?
4. Is self-regulation of the art market the way forward?
5. How are forgeries placed on the market?
6. What scientific measures can be taken to better protect the art market?
7. How should identified fraudulent works of art be dealt with?
8. How can the legal and financial risks in authenticating works of art be mitigated?

Workshop Schedule

9.00 am Registration

9.30 am – 10.00 am

• Introduction by Duncan Chappell and Saskia Hufnagel

10:00am – 11.30 am
1. International Case Studies

• Dr. Noah Charney, founder, Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA)
• Rene Allonge – Detective Chief Superintendent, Criminal Investigation Office (State of Berlin) and Steven Weigel – Detective Superintendent, Criminal Investigation Office (State of Berlin)
• Saskia Hufnagel, QMUL

Coffee Break 11.30 am – 12.00 pm

12.00 pm – 1.00 pm

• Presentation by and Dialogue with John Myatt

1.00pm - 2.00 pm Lunch

2.00 pm – 3.30 pm
2. International Law Enforcement and Security Perspectives

• Vernon Rapley, Head of Security and Visitor Services at the Victoria & Albert Museum
• Toby Bull, Senior Inspector, Hong Kong Police
• Michael Will, Europol

3.30 pm – 4.00 pm Afternoon Tea

4.00 pm – 6.00 pm
3. Detection, Prosecution and other legal action

• Professor Robyn Sloggett, Director, Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, University of Melbourne
• James Ratcliffe, Art Loss Register
• Robert A. Kugler – Barrister/Solicitor (Rechtsanwalt), Höly, Rauch & Partner - Lawyers, Berlin

Presentations from the first workshop can be found on the Queen Mary University website via the link here.