Milan, Aula Magna dell’Università Milano Bicocca
Viale Piero e Alberto Pirelli 21, I-20126 Milano
Contact theartistarchives@gmail.com
Managing, protecting and safeguarding the cultural and patrimonial legacy of an artist, especially if established or potentially attractive to the market, involves economic interests of great importance. It may require substantial investments in order to organize the artist’s cultural memory, the archive and to manage the bequest.
The responsibility and protection of artists and their estates in pursuing these tasks is only partially regulated by the law. Nonetheless, legal reforms addressing specific needs are currently being discussed, such as the protection of authenticating artists and experts in the State of New York.
Museums, public libraries and universities are involved in this discussion, as they appear to be today the chosen places to receive and conserve artists’ cultural legacy, especially when there are no heirs or when the heirs do not pursue their mission due to lack of funds or interest.
Artists’ Archives and Estates is a fundamental issue, also from a legal perspective, which has given rise to a very interesting international academic debate. The topic needs to be further analysed and researched based on the valuable input from practitioners.
The aim of this conference is to highlight, by means of the comparison between the different regulations, the divide concerning inheritance and the safeguard of artist’s rights in the many disciplines involved. The presentations will reflect on the complex issues arising when authenticating a work of art, or determining its provenance, with an emphasis on the right to authenticate and the new market rules in this field – considering the very important role of certificate of authenticity issued by artist archives; the system of indirect authentication through the publication of an artwork in the artist’s catalogue raisonné; and the role of museums in the management of archives, including issuing expertise.
Moreover, the conference’s purpose is to identify guidelines and good practices to navigate the complex set of rules already set and appropriated by the market.
Scientific Committee: Prof. Alessandra Donati (University Milano-Bicocca), Dr. Anne Laure Bandle (Art Law Foundation University Genève, Froriep), Prof. Rachele Ferrario (Accademia delle Belle Arti di Brera), Me Anne-Sophie Nardon (Borghese Associés Paris, Institut Art et Droit), Dott. Silvia Simoncelli (NABA, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano), Dott. Filippo Tibertelli De Pisis (AitArt).
Full Program here
Source: The Artists’ Archives