Talk

Looted Worlds: Heritage, Crime, and Global Networks

Mark AlTaweel, Sam Hardy, Emiline Smith

Hrair Sarkissian, *Stolen Past*. Installation view at Ibraaz. Photo: Ollie Hammick.

Date and Time:: Thursday 21 May, 6-8pm
Location:: Minassa

Join us for a discussion on the global networks that sustain the illicit trade in antiquities and cultural artefacts, examining the markets, institutions and actors which enable the circulation of looted objects across borders.

Bringing together leading researchers in archaeology and criminology, the discussion will look at the various interconnected nodes in the movement of looted heritage, including collectors, auction houses, museums, transit hubs, policing bodies, and policy organisations. Speakers Professor Mark Altaweel, Sam Hardy, and Dr Emiline Smith will draw on their expertise spanning West Asia, Asia, and Europe. The conversation will be moderated by Dr Summer Rose Austin.

This event takes place in the context of Hrair Sarkissian’s exhibition Stolen Past which focuses on the looting of archaeological heritage in Raqqa, Syria.

Doors open at 5.30pm; event starts at 6pm and ends at 8pm.

Dr Summer Rose Austin is an archaeologist focused on cultural heritage crime, particularly the illicit trade in cultural heritage. Her doctoral research undertaken at University College London, examined the causal relationship between blockbuster museum exhibitions and the increased demand for cultural objects by employing a multidisciplinary approach that encompassed archaeology, criminology, and economics. She also works on the ethics of ownership, control, access, display, and commodification of cultural heritage.

Professor Mark Altaweel has worked in the Middle East for nearly thirty years. He has recently worked in Iraq, looking at ancient DNA, paleoclimate, and wider human-landscape interactions in his research. He also has spoken extensively about Iraq's heritage, destruction, and looting caused by various conflicts. He has published several books on ancient Iraq and Near East archaeology. His work has been published in many leading journals in various fields, with applications to modern and ancient studies. His interests also include the use of data science techniques in how cultural heritage and protection can be studied and improved.

Dr. Sam Hardy is a cultural property criminologist in the Alliance to Counter Crime Online, who has worked for universities and civil society organisations, most recently the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research and Rey Juan Carlos University. He looks into financing and incentivisation of political violence with cultural goods, organized crime, online social organisation of crime, political violence against cultural property and propaganda, with a focus on Turkey and Ukraine.

Dr Emiline Smith is a Lecturer in Criminology at the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, University of Glasgow in Scotland (UK). She is also a Fellow at the Centre for Criminology at the University of Hong Kong, and an expert member of UK Blue Shield, the Trafficking Culture Research Consortium, and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Emiline's research focuses on the protection, securitisation, and restitution of cultural and natural resources, particularly within the Asia-Pacific region. Her recent research has also focused on multispecies justice.

- Exhibition
Stolen Past
Hrair Sarkissian
25 Mar – 24 May

Looted Worlds: Heritage, Crime, and Global Networks

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Stolen Past