Renata Kaminker – Fine Art Solutions returns as a guest lecturer to Sotheby’s Institute of Art
It was an honour to have been, once more, invited to Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London as a guest lecturer for the MA in Art Logistics.
Speaking to a room full of students on issues regarding the ethics and legalities of conservation and restoration as well as introducing them to the dynamics of restitution of cultural goods proved as enriching as always, the questions and ensuing discussions leading to new thought processes around these two important issues.
Over the course of two and half hours we covered legal and normative frameworks, case studies, the definitions of what a conservator is and the responsibilities involved in this role, the differences between restitution, repatriation, and return, and many other subjects.
As always, it was a great pleasure being involved in the MA, interacting with the students, and seeing thefuture generation of art market professionals.
Conservation Treatments and Reports as an Integral Part of Provenance Research
I’m honoured to have been invited to contribute to Flynn & Giovanni's The Provenance Research Blog.
Conservation treatments and their reports, which include condition reports, are an important yet underused asset in provenance research. As written and photographic witnesses to the state of an artwork at a specific point in time, including details on any damages, changes, place(s) of conservation, and history of the piece, these reports are an essential part of research.
You can read the full article here.
Renata Kaminker - Fine Art Solutions participated in Forster's first Art Webinar and Virtual Networking event
On July 29, 2020, Forster’s Heritage Property and Art team organised their first Art Webinar and Virtual Networking event.
The webinar began with a brief introduction of Forster’s work in the art and heritage field before leading into the presentation itself. Over the next 30 minutes Gilead Cooper spoke on cultural heritage appropriation issues and provided some legal insights into well-known and highly debated cases, such as the return of the Parthenon Marbles.
The ensuing online networking rooms allowed for further exchanges on this, and other issues, in much smaller groups. Over the next 30 minutes, 3 groups of 5-6 people were settled into online meeting rooms, which allowed for more personal interactions amongst participants, much as one would do in in-person conferences.
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, this original approach to networking through the use of online technologies presented an interesting experience, and one that is worth repeating in my opinion. The current situation has left professionals in the field with few options to meet, and for some there is the impossibility of travelling to those few events that do take place. Creative and thought-out online seminars like this one are highly welcome and enjoyable, and mark a decided change in the more traditional webinars where one simply sits and listens to others speak, and waits for the opportunity to ask a question through the chat bar.
I look forward to the next Art Webinar and Virtual Networking event.
Renata Kaminker - Fine Art Solutions was once more invited by Sotheby's Institute of Art to lecture at one of its London courses
It was a pleasure to have been invited back as a lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, this time for the MA on Art Logistics, as well as an honour to have been part of the creation of the MA exam on Art Law. With over 15 years of experience in the field, it is always enjoyable to see the future generation of art professionals’ interest regarding all the legal and ethical issues faced by the market.
The lectures given were: “Legal and Ethical Issues: Conservation and Restoration” and “Art Restitution”. Students were thus introduced to the different codes of ethics that rule a conservator’s work, conservation’s legal and normative framework (at an international level, but also in France and the UK), and the importance of conservation treatments when researching collections.
We also discussed issues regarding the restitution of art and antiquities, and the class was able to use the knowledge it acquired on this issue from other art law lectures when discussing specific case studies.
I look forward to coming back to Sotheby’s Institute of Art for future exchanges and discussions, and to meet further new professionals as they prepare for a changing and ever-developing industry.
Renata Kaminker - Fine Art Solutions attends the French CNE's roundtable discussion on restitution
Yesterday, November 26, 2019, the French Compagnie National des Experts (CNE) held a roundtable discussion on The Question of the Restitution of Artworks.
Renata Kaminker - Fine Art Solutions attended the event, the work required to assist in restitutions, such as documentation and title research, being an integral part of our work.
It was an interesting morning, where the French perspective from the legal, political and factual point of view was openly discussed.
The expert panel were all highly regarded sector professionals with some opposing viewpoints on the subject, be they legal, historical or from the art and culture media:
Judith Schoffel de Fabry, CNE Administrator & Roundtable Coordinator
Emmanuel Moyne, Lawyer
Bertrand Goy, Art historian specialised in Tribal Arts
Didier Rykner, Journalist
Claire Bouglé-Le Roux, Professor of Law History, Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
Frédéric Castaing, CNE President
It is always interesting to hear national views on what is a highly debated subject, especially after participating in conferences with an international perspective as Renata Kaminker - Fine Art Solutions always does. Discussing different views and perspectives, whether we agree with them or not, is always important.
Renata Kaminker - Fine Art Solutions attends CIVS' 2019 Conference
Last Friday, 15 November 2019, I had the opportunity to attend CIVS’ conference on the “Twenty years of reparation for anti-semitic spoliations during the Occupation: between compensation and restitution”.
Following the introduction given by former French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, speakers from France, England, Switzerland, and Germany, among other countries, discussed several issues:
Does compensation adequately reflect the losses suffered?
Reparation: what is the perspective of despoiled families?
Reparation that is necessarily incomplete
Comparative assessment in Europe
The challenges of provenance research
The diversity of approach: the example of forced sales
In addition, the new French organization for the restitution of looted cultural property was presented. You may find more information on this here.
The event was also a wonderful occasion to greet colleagues and friends, and exchange on the future of restitutions and other related issues. Renata Kaminker - Fine Art Solutions is very happy to be assistance in documentation and title research, as well as legal advice thanks to its network of specialized lawyers, as is necessary for cases like the ones discussed today.
#throwbackthursday Project management of ICOM’s Red Lists of Cultural Objects at Risk
Over the course of several years, I was in charge of managing ICOM’s Red Lists of Cultural Objects at Risk. Ispecifically worked on the Emergency Red Lists for Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Libya, and the Mali section in the West African list, as well as the regular Red List for the Dominican Republic.
I also monitored and reported on emergency situations for museums and cultural heritage sites for ICOM and the International Committee of the Blue Shield, and training of museum professionals on fighting illicit trafficking of cultural goods, collections inventory, and emergency situations.
Projects were finished on or ahead of schedule, and under budget. This allowed for the remaining funds to be invested in new Red Lists as the demanded required them. It was an honor to work on these long-lasting tools dedicated to fighting illicit trafficking of cultural goods around the world, and specifically in conflict areas.
The success of the Watch Lists was illustrated by the request of the US Blue Shield Committee to have a list drawn for Libya, to be given to NATO before the air strike. The result was that extensive site damage was avoided, thanks to NATO having their exact coordinates.
