The Amelia Conference:
ARCA’s Annual Interdisciplinary Art Crime Conference

Conference Dates – June 19 – 21, 2026
Conference Sessions – Collegio Boccarini Conference Hall
Adjacent to the Museo Civico Archeologico e Pinacoteca Edilberto Rosa
Amelia, Italy. 

Each summer, professionals from around the world gather in the beautiful town of Amelia, Italy, the seat of ARCA’s summer Postgraduate Certificate Programmes in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection to take part in ARCA’s flagship event: the Amelia Conference. Taking place from June 19 to 21, 2026, this three-day event offers a focused and engaging platform to examine the realities of art and antiquities crime and the protection of cultural heritage.

Hosted in the historic Collegio Boccarini adjacent to the Museo Civico Archeologico e Pinacoteca Edilberto Rosa, the conference helps support  ARCA’s wider postgraduate teaching programmes.

The weekend begins on Friday evening with a welcoming cocktail reception. Designed as an informal entry point into the conference, this event allows participants to arrive, settle in, and begin conversations that will continue throughout the weekend. It is as much about community as it is about content.

From Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon, the conference shifts into a series of structured sessions addressing key challenges facing the field today. Topics will span investigative practices, legal frameworks, trafficking networks, market dynamics, and the broader policy environment shaping cultural property protection.

The Amelia Conference distinguishes itself through its interdisciplinary approach. It brings together voices from across sectors, including law enforcement, academia, museums, international and grassroots organisations, as well as those representing actors in the art market. This format encourages open discussion, critical reflection, and the exchange of differing perspectives in a professional and respectful setting.

This year’s programme will feature a mix of presentations and panel discussions, some of which may take a more interactive or debate-oriented format.

Confirmed presentation titles and presenters will be added to this page as accepted speakers confirm their attendance.

The conference welcomes an international audience, including:

• Law enforcement and investigative professionals
• Legal practitioners and policy makers
• Museum and cultural heritage professionals
• Academics and researchers
• Art market participants and risk specialists
• Students and emerging professionals in related fields
• Anyone with an interest in the protection of art and the complexity of art crimes.

Registration for this year’s conference is now open on Eventbrite

Conference Registration Fees for 2026:

€170 for both days’ sessions for professionals, includes icebreaker cocktail.

€110 for both days’ sessions for university students providing proof of current enrolment in an academic program, includes icebreaker cocktail.

€90 for both days’ sessions for university students providing proof of current enrolment in an academic program.

€990 Conference (19-21 June 2026) + Illicit Trafficking Course (22-26 June 2026) Bundle  

This course + conference bundle Includes the Amelia Conference, Conference cocktail, Conference Gala Dinner and 25 hours of course instruction.  For more information on this informative course, please see this link.

All registration fees include entry to all conference panel sessions plus complimentary morning and afternoon refreshment breaks with coffee, juice, and light pastries on Saturday and Sunday morning and afternoon.

Registration for the event will remain open until June 18, 2026 subject to space limitations.

2026 Topics and Presenters*

Saturday, 20 June 2026

9:00 am – 10:00 am: Registration
10:00 am – 10:15 am: Conference Opening (all attendees, please be seated)

10:15 am – 11:30 am: Saturday Panel I
Holy Smokes: Legal and Ethical Failures in the Museum of the Bible Acquisitions
Panel Chair: Lily Schmitz, MA, Art History
ARCA 2026 Alumna

The Museum of the Bible Files
Michael Blanding, BA
Author, The Map Thief and the upcoming The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby: Inside a Billionaire Family’s Quest to Craft a Christian Nation

Roberta Mazza, PhD
Associate Professor
Università di Bologna

Brent Nongbri, PhD
Professor of History of Religions
The Norwegian School of Theology

11:30 am – 12:00 pm: Saturday Morning Refreshments Break

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm: Saturday Panel II
Taking It Back: Colonial Loot and Indigenous Restitution Today
Panel Chair: Sadie Ekedal, BA, Art History
ARCA 2026 Alumna

The Asante Gold; A Story of Colonial Plunder and Restitution
Barnaby Phillips, MS
Historian and Author

NAGPRA: Successes, Failures, & Opportunities
Reilly Clark, PhD Student
History of Art & Architecture, University of California, Santa Barbara
1:15 pm – 2:15 pm: Lunch at La Locanda del Conte Nitto

2:30 pm – 3:15 pm: Saturday Panel III
Regulating Risk or Overregulating the Market? AML and the Art Trade Under Scrutiny
Panel Chair: Jasper Clyatt, MA, Statecraft & National Security Affairs
ARCA 2026 Alumni

Using a Sledgehammer to Crack a Nut? Empirical Insights on the Impact of Anti-money Laundering Regulation on the Art Market
Saskia Hufnagel, PhD
Professor, Sydney Law School
The University of Sydney

Colin King, PhD
Professor, Sydney Law School
The University of Sydney

3:15 pm – 3:45 pm: Saturday Afternoon Refreshments Break

3:45 pm – 4:45 pm: Saturday Panel IV
When Evidence Is (and Is Not), Enough: Documentation, Diplomacy, and the Return of Looted Art
Panel Chair: Stefano Alessandrini, MA
Forensic Researcher and Docent, Association for Research into Crimes against Art

MOLA: New Data on the illicit Antiquities Trade from the Museum of Looted Antiquities
Jason Felch, MA
Director, Museum of Looted Antiquities
Partner, Achilles Research Group

Cultural Diplomacy and the Politics of Art Repatriation
Ilaria Bortot, LLM
Museum of Looted Antiquities, Contributing Editor
CIEE, Academic Assistant

4:45 pm – 5:45 pm: Saturday Panel IV
Follow the Data, Fund the Fight: Exposing the Illicit Trade and Empowering Local Communities
Panel Chair: Lynda Albertson
CEO/Project Lead, Transnational Crime Mapping Project
Association for Research into Crimes against Art

Funding the Frontline: Investing in Local Guardians and Transnational Efforts to Protect Nepal’s Sacred Heritage

Shreena Nepal, BA, LLB.,
Namuna Foundation
Nepal Cultural Advocacy Analyst

Saurav Thapa Shrestha, BDevS
Namuna Foundation
Nepal Cultural Advocacy Analyst

Laia Bonet Filella, MArch
Project Manager
ALIPH Foundation

Tania Esposito, MA, Attorney at Law,
Deputy Head of the Specialized Body for the International Transfer of Cultural Property
Federal Office of Culture, Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs, Switzerland

8:00 pm: Conference Gala Dinner

 

Sunday, 22 June 2025

10:00 am – 11:30 pm: Sunday Panel I
Policy, Practice, Power and Investigation: Gaps and Narratives in Cultural Heritage Protection
Panel Chair: Saskia Hufnagel, PhD
Professor, Sydney Law School

Treasure Hunting, Treasure Making: Disappearance, Exposure, and Narrative Control at Sa’dabad Palace
Romina Frohar, PhD Researcher
Glasgow School of Art
Founder, Forensic Archive of Iran

Framing the Gap: Systemic Frictions and Implementation Challenges in European Anti-Trafficking Policies
David Castro-Liñares, PhD
Assistant Professor in Criminal Law
University of Vigo

Restoring Heritage: Shifting International Norms from Cultural Plunder to Cultural Restoration
Jeannine Gliddon Owens, MA
PhD student in International Studies
Old Dominion University

How Organised is the Trafficking of Cultural Goods? Spain as Case Study
María Ángeles Fuentes Loureiro, PhD
Assistant Professor of Criminal Law
Universidade da Coruña

11:30 am – 12:00 pm: Sunday Morning Refreshments Break

12:00 pm – 13:15 pm: Sunday Panel II
Tracing Truth: The Stakes and Struggles of Provenance Research
Panel Chair: Saida S. Hasanagic, MA
Art Historian and Provenance Researcher, Holocaust Art Recovery Project

Roundtable: Politics of Provenance Research: Ethics, Expertise, Market Value and Quest for Justice
Pauline Baer de Pérignon, MSt
Author
The Vanished Collection

Marc Masurovsky, MA
Historian of Economic Plunder
Cofounder, Holocaust Art Recovery Project

Barbara Murovec, PhD
Professor of Art History
Visiting Scholar, Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut
2025/2026 Fellow at Käte Hamburger Centre for Cultural Practices of Reparation (CURE)

Joseph Roussel, MA
Author, Strategic Advisor, Provenance Enthusiast and Art Educator
Private Collector

1:30 pm – 2:30 pm: Lunch at La Locanda del Conte Nitto

2:45 pm – 3:45 pm: Sunday Panel III
Scripted Crime vs. Script Kiddies: Analysing New and Old Threats to Cultural Institutions
Panel Chair: Camilla Brunazzo Chiavegato, MA
Art Historian, ARCA 2024 Alumna

Kill Chain to Curator: Mapping the Rise of RaaS Attacks on Cultural Institutions
Ibrahim Bulut, MS
Partner/Senior Security Consultant, Expertise & Security Consultants, Belgium

Alice Bientinesi, MA
Research Analyst, Transnational Crime Mapping Project
Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA)

The Art of the Heist: A Criminological Analysis of the Art Heist Movie Genre
Keith Hayward, PhD
Professor of Criminology at the Faculty of Law
Copenhagen Centre for Criminology

John Kerr, PhD
Head of Policing and Criminology
The University of Law

3:45 pm – 5:00 pm: Sunday Panel IV
From Attribution to Appropriation: AI’s Promise and Perils in Its Expanding Role in Cultural Heritage
Panel Chair: Alice Bientinesi, MA, Curatorial Practice
Lead Analyst, Transnational Crime Mapping Project, ARCA

Art Authentication Through AI: Reality or Hype?
Massimo Sterpi, JD
Partner, Co-Head of the Intellectual Property, TMT and Cybersecurity
Gianni & Origoni

Can Artificial Intelligence Replace Art Authentication Experts?
Liliana Wuffli-Wolf, PhD
Art Risk, Authenticity & Research Specialist
Founder & CEO, Okami Advisory Platform

From Pixels to Patrimony: Digital Colonialism, AI Appropriation, and the Limits of Virtual Restitution in Cultural Heritage Law
Afroditi Karatagli, LL.M
Pre-Doctoral Research Assistant
London School of Economics and Political Science

5:00 pm – 5:30 pm: Conference Closing Panel
Panel Chair: Sanjay Adhikari, BA, LLB, LLM
Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign, ARCA, Nepal Cultural Advocacy Expert

From Grief to Governance: Institutionalizing Nepal’s Heritage Protection
Rabindra Puri, UNESCO Asia-Pacific Cultural Heritage Conservation Awardee,2004
Chairperson, Rabindra Puri Foundation

FINAL NOTE
ARCA is a small civil society organisation.  Due to our extremely limited operational budget, all participants and presenters attending the Amelia Conference have been  responsible for their own registration fees, travel and accommodation expenses travelling to, and while in, Italy.