Are US Museum and Private Collections Drifting Into Legal Limbo? Who Owns the Past?" - A New Guide to Ethics, Law, and Policy on Cultural Heritage
The American Council for Cultural Policy announced the publication of Who Owns the Past? Cultural Policy, Cultural Property, and the Law, a major book on art and cultural heritage policies published by Rutgers University Press. Edited by Kate Fitz Gibbon, a specialist in both Asian art and heritage and management issues, this volume focuses on the most controversial and hotly debated issues in the art world today. Who Owns the Past? is a guide to recent dramatic changes in public policy and the law, with opinion by thirty of the nations leading legal scholars, museum professionals, archaeologists, art historians, and collectors.
New York, NY (PRWEB) August 31, 2005 -- The American Council for Cultural Policy is pleased to announce the publication of Who Owns the Past? Cultural Policy, Cultural Property, and the Law, a major book on art and cultural heritage policies published by Rutgers University Press. Edited by Kate Fitz Gibbon, a specialist in Asian art and heritage and management issues, this volume focuses on the most controversial and hotly debated issues in the art world today.
Who Owns the Past? is a guide to recent dramatic changes in public policy and the law, with opinion by thirty of the nations leading legal scholars, museum professionals, archaeologists, art historians, and collectors. In clear, non-technical language, the contributors provide background on cultural property policies and discuss important cases affecting the ability of U.S. museums and private collectors to exhibit and own art from other countries.
Topics covered include rights to property; ethical ownership; the public responsibilities of museums; threats to art from war, pillage, and development; and international cooperation to preserve collections in the developing world.
• What are the greatest threats to cultural heritage? What is the root cause of looting?
• How do foreign laws and international agreements affect U.S. collectors and institutions?
• What determines legal ownership today? How are U.S. museums responding to the crisis?
• What policies will preserve and enhance Americas museum collections for future generations? What will do the most to protect the record of the human past?
Who Owns the Past? is a comprehensive syllabus on developments in U.S. law and ethical practices for students and professionals in the fields of law and anthropology. It is a handbook on responsible collecting for collectors, art dealers, and museum professionals.
The book was sponsored by the American Council for Cultural Policy (ACCP), a non-profit charitable organization established in 2002 to bring important issues of art and cultural heritage to the attention of the American public. Ashton Hawkins, president of the American Council for Cultural Policy, stated, The book reflects the ACCPs commitment to include all perspectives and to encourage an open debate on vitally important arts issues. We believe that this publication is a positive step toward developing sound, sustainable, ethically responsible policies that consider traditional American interests in securing cultural resources while respecting international concerns over loss of heritage.
Hawkins also struck a somber note: "On the day that the book was printed, we received news that author, journalist, and fellow contributor Steven Vincent had been killed in Basra, Iraq. Steven had spent many months in Basra and Baghdad since 2003, writing a new book, The Red Zone, and producing hard-hitting articles on the war for the New York Times and other papers and journals. We will miss Stevens courage, his clarity, and his willingness to step forward to tackle difficult issues.
Stevens death should remind us that words are both dangerous and powerful. History teaches us that nobody owns the past – for long. Let us use the time available to us to seek out areas of commonality between archaeologists, the discoverers of the past, and museums, its stewards. Let us make pacts between the developed and developing nations that provide meaningful assistance to help countries in need with documentation, conservation, and technical aid. Let us find ways to bring ourselves together in common cause to develop positive, effective policies that can preserve and protect the cultural heritage of all nations."
The ACCP has also established a Website (www.culturalpolicycouncil.org) to serve educators, students, journalists, museum and legal professionals, and all those interested in issues of heritage. The site includes full texts of US laws and international laws and conventions, major articles on cultural policy, an extensive bibliography on cultural property issues, and links to ethical practices policies for museums and to art register and law enforcement resources.
Who Owns the Past? Cultural Policy, Cultural Property, and the Law (ISBN 978-0-8135-3687-3),
Editor: Kate Fitz Gibbon
Contributors: Ann M. Brose, Anthony Browne, Emma Bunker, Judith Church, Stephen W. Clark, Clemency Chase Coggins, James Cuno, Ludovic de Walden, André Emmerich, Jeremy G. Epstein, Leo V. Gagion, Kate Fitz Gibbon, Ashton Hawkins, Arielle Kozloff, Harvey Kurzweil, Peter Marks, David Matsuda, Margaret Ellen Mayo, John Henry Merryman, Ramona Morris, Rebecca Noonan, William G. Pearlstein, Cynthia Rosenfeld, Andrew Solomon, Ronald D. Spencer, Erich Theophile, Peter K. Tompa, Pierre Valentin, Steven Vincent, and Shelby White.
The Rutgers Series on the Public Life of the Arts, Rutgers University Press, Piscataway, NJ.
384 pages, 30 b&w illustrations, hardcover, list price $34.95
Book details, table of contents, and list of contributors are available online: http://www.culturalpolicycouncil.org/news.htm.
The book can be pre-ordered through all major online booksellers and is available at a special pre-order discount at Rutgers University Press, 1-800-446-9323, http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/ACCP
Contact:
Kate Fitz Gibbon
American Council for Cultural Policy
505-820-0022
http://www.culturalpolicycouncil.org
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