The year 2028 is the 30th anniversary of the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated art, agreed at the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets in December 1998. This summer, the interdisciplinary Research Centre for Provenance Research, Art and Cultural Property Law – based between the Art History and Law Departments at the University of Bonn – will begin work to mark this anniversary. Alongside an update of the ‘Restatement of Restitution Rules for Nazi-Confiscated Art’ (the ‘Restatement Update’ Project, for which a second call will follow), the Research Centre is planning an Open Access publication to provide a broad, analytical overview of how the Washington Principles have been implemented in the 42 signatory nations states, under the title ‘Taking Stock, Looking Ahead’.
As a first stage, the Research Centre invites expressions of interest to contribute to the ‘Taking Stock, Looking Ahead’ volume. The planned publication aims to provide a comprehensive, comparative, and critical assessment of the implementation and impact of the Washington Principles across the 42 signatory states. Key questions include:
– To what extent and how have the Principles been implemented in the 42 signatory nation states, and what developments have taken place as a result in the years since 1998?
– Where do significant gaps, desiderata or structural limitations persist?
– Where do we stand today, three decades later?
We seek expressions of interest from scholars and experienced practitioners in provenance research, art and cultural property law, and related disciplines. Submission should include a motivation letter in English (approximately 500 words) clearly outlining the following:
– the country their contribution will relate to;
– their relevant professional and/or academic experience;
– specific expertise and interest in the country proposed;
– linguistic competence in the relevant national/regional languages; and
– a brief indication of key thematic focal points for the intended contribution.
Motivation letters must be submitted by 15. October 2026 as a PDF file via email (washingtonprinciples30@uni-bonn.de) addressed to the project team: Dr. des. Nora Jaeger, Dr. Florian Schönfuß, Jun.-Prof. Dr. Lucy Wasensteiner, Prof. Dr. Matthias Weller, Prof. Dr. Christoph Zuschlag.
The final contributions are to be submitted in the summer of 2027. The publication is scheduled for December 2028.
A royalty of 250 euros will be provided for each contribution.
For additional information, visit: https://www.khi.uni-bonn.de/fpk/en/news-1/call-for-contributions-30-years-after-the-washington-principles-taking-stock-looking-ahead
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