We are all excited at IAL to start a new academic year and cannot think of a better way to brush off the cobwebs from lockdown and the summer break than by joining our upcoming (virtual) Study Forum, to be held this Saturday the 12th of September, as well as our Diploma in Law and Collections Management course, taking place from the 5th to the 9th of October, see below.

This is also a stimulating time for the LLM programme ‘Art, Business and Law’ which we run in partnership with the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary, University of London, as we prepare to welcome next week our new cohort of students with teaching starting at the end of this month.

This fall’s Study Forum will cover an array of topics ranging from the Monuments Men to the law of treasure, export licensing, art fraud and more. The day’s programme will run from 9:45am to 5:00pm (BST – UK time). Confirmed speakers include Ian Upjohn QC CSC, Dr Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds, Amanda Gray, Vittoria Mastrandrea, Professor Geoffrey Bennett and Crispin Oliver.

There are still spaces available, so click here to book your spot and we kindly remind members to make use of their coupon code at checkout for a 50% reduction of the enrolment fee. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please email us at events@nullial.uk.com.

Looking slightly further ahead, we are proud to be running for another year our sought-after Diploma in Law and Collections Management (DipLCM) course. This Diploma is particularly relevant to those working in museums, those handling the management of collections and art world professionals. This year, in light of the Covid-19 situation, the course will be running online for the first time ever, through our smart digital learning platform. This will therefore offer a unique opportunity to students from outside the UK to attend the course without needing to travel.

The course syllabus is very comprehensive and delivered in an intensive 5-day teaching period, during the first week of October. The programme will essentially cover every legal and ethical aspect pertaining to collections management, from ownership and title in collection items, to deaccessioning and restitution claims, the legal arrangements for bailment, gifts, loans of cultural objects and the role of contracts in these arrangements, as well as matters of intellectual property, copyright, insurance and immunity from seizure.

Previous students of the course include professionals from some of the world’s most prestigious  cultural institutions and these are summaries of their experiences with our course:

“Overall a truly wonderful learning experience… Really enjoyable, pitched at exactly the right level and left me feeling confident in myself and excited to get back to work!” (Loans coordinator, British Library)

“Really fascinating overview of the legal issues surrounding collections management. They made even copyright interesting!” (Registrar, Natural History Museum)

This course is taught by IAL Assistant Director Alexander Herman and Senior Researcher Emily Gould, who will be joined by a number of guest lecturers sharing from their individual areas of expertise. Moreover, whilst the course does not require pre-existing knowledge of the law, it will award students with an IAL Diploma, upon successful completion of the course’s assessment. The assessment consists of an oral presentation, which will take place at the end of the course, and a written 3,000 word dissertation to be submitted several weeks after the conclusion of the course.

For those interested in registering, please contact Jo Crabtree at jo.crabtree@nullial.uk.com.

We look much forward to welcoming you to the Study Forum and our Diploma Course!