What Prospects for "Orphan Works"? International Conference

Laurie Rush delivered a talk at the international conference:

What prospects for "orphan works"? Reflections on cultural goods without provenance

International Conference, University of Geneva 4th-5th February 2021, organised by The Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, the Art-Law Centre of the University of Geneva and UNIDROIT

The confrence focused on archaeological and ethnographic objects, and more broadly works of art, which are present in the collections, but for which there are neither archives nor material proof of their existence in these collections. What to do with these works - and what to do with them if the owner wishes to move, sell or lend them? What should be envisaged for the future?

The question of archives will therefore be at the heart of this multidisciplinary symposium, bringing together the various protagonists involved in the art market: collectors, gallery owners, lawyers, historians and archaeologists, curators, justice, customs and police brigades specialising in the repression of fraud.

The aim is to think together on a reasonable solution, that takes into account already existing conventions and reality, without harming objects, bona fide owners or researchers.