Czegledi Art Law is organising a “Criminality in the art & cultural property world”.

The event takes place in Toronto on June 15th – 16th 2012.

For more information, & to book a place, view the full details here.

In this Olympic year, against the backdrop of the Greek financial crisis, I thought that the time was right, for a new petition, for people to display the level of support that the issue of the return of the Parthenon Marbles has, both from people in Britain & around the world.

http://bit.ly/parthenon-sculptures-petition

Half of the surviving Parthenon Sculptures (also known as Elgin Marbles) from the Acropolis in Athens, are currently in the British Museum. They were acquired by the seventh Earl of Elgin in circumstances of highly dubious legality. For many years, Greece’s government has been asking for them to be returned.

Where would the sculptures be kept in Greece?
In 2009, Greece opened the New Acropolis Museum in Athens, specifically to hold all the surviving Parthenon Sculptures in a single place.

What would the conditions of return be?
Greece has in the past (in 2003, when Evangelos Venizelos was Culture Minister) offered to make the following concessions in the hope of facilitating return of the sculptures:

1. That the return of the Marbles could take place as a long term, renewable loan.
2. That the exhibition of the reunited sculptures in the New Acropolis Museum could take place as a joint co-operation between the two museums.
3. Greece would send a series of temporary exhibits to Britain in exchange for the return of the Marbles.

We are not saying that the sculptures have to be returned by the Olympics – but that a commitment should be made by then, to enter into serious negotiations, with an aim to their eventual return.

Who has the power to return the sculptures?
We request that the British Government and the British Museum agree to set aside debates over the issue of ownership of the sculptures & engage in serious talks with an aim to equitable resolution of the current situation.

Why is this important now?
In this Olympic year, when Britain has the pleasure of hosting an event that borrows so heavily from Greek culture, now is the ideal time to make such a gesture, to give a commitment by the start of the Olympics that the sculptures will be returned. Returning the sculptures would show the UK’s willingness to help out a friend in need – to repay our debt, from the huge cultural contribution that we have inherited from Greece.

Now might not seem like the time to focus on something like this, when there are so many problems in Greece, but the reality is that it would take very little effort on Greece’s part & it would be a way for Britain (who is not contributing directly to the EU’s financial bailout of Greece) to do something to help out the country.

You are encouraged to add your name to the petition at AVAAZ here.

http://bit.ly/parthenon-sculptures-petition

Please forward this to as many friends as possible, to help us achieve our goal.

How can I find out more about the Parthenon Sculptures?
If you are interested in giving more support for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, there are a number of organisations that you can contact:

The International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures comprises various organisations around the world, all of which have the aim of reunifying all the surviving Parthenon Sculptures in the New Acropolis Museum.

Marbles Reunited is based in the UK, but anyone can become a member, as long as they support the organisations aims, of returning the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum to Greece.

And, of course, there is a huge amount of background information about the reasons for the return of the sculptures & the history of the campaigns for their return on this website.

If you want regular updates, you can also follow Elginism on Facebook & on Twitter.

Share this petition with your friends – on Twitter, Facebook, or by Email.

Remember to follow the link above to sign the petition and please forward it on to any other people who you think might be interested.

ARCA’s annual conference is being held in Amelia, Italy on 23rd & 24th June.

You can view the official flyer for the conference here.

From:
Art Crime

May 10, 2012
ARCA Annual Conference, June 23-24, Amelia

In order to encourage continued awareness of the growing field of art crime and cultural heritage protection ARCA will host its fourth-annual conference in Amelia.

The interdisciplinary event brings together those who have an interest in the responsible stewardship of our collective cultural heritage. Presenters will discuss topics including:
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Marbles Reunited is running a competition to create images that promote the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece.

On offer as prizes are two tickets to the opera in Athens about the Elgin Marbles: “Opus Elgin: The destruction of the Parthenon”

So – if you have great ideas for images, or if you have already produced images that might be suitable, make sure you enter the competition.

From:
Marbles Reunited

Win two tickets to the upcoming event “Opus Elgin: The destruction of the Parthenon”

In recent months, a number of activities have occurred, all with the aim of raising the public’s awareness with regards to the matter of the reunification of the Parthenon sculptures. A noteworthy effort, and an event which promises to be memorable is the upcoming opera in two acts “Opus Elgin: The destruction of the Parthenon”.

Raising public awareness is paramount to the cause and Marbles Reunited wholeheartedly support noteworthy efforts in doing so. In aid of this event, and with the cooperation of Imeros for Culture, we have decided to both inspire people further and encourage them to attend this event.
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As happened in April for International Monuments Day, the New Acropolis Museum will have free admission on 18th May 2012, to celebrate International Museums Day.

You can read more about International Museums Day here.

ICOMOS and ICAHM are organising a conference in Athens, looking at way that archaeological heritage can be protected during the current economic crisis. The discussion is not restricted to Greece however, and I imagine will be of interest to many other countries, whose museums and culture departments face massive spending cuts as governments try to balance their budgets.

From:
ICOMOS

ICOMOS Hellenic and ICAHM REGIONAL CONFERENCE: From past experience to new approaches and synergies: the Future of Protection Heritage Management for Archaeological Heritage in Times of Economic Crisis
23.05.2012 – 25.05.2012
Athens, Greece

A regional conference on the future and new challenges facing the Protection and Management of Archaeological Heritage.

The scope of this conference is to present and use past experience with a view to contribute as a think tank to new ways of managing the protection and preservation of our archaeological heritage in times of economic crisis. The challenges are now greater than ever, as the cultural society needs to regroup its forces, reinforce its role, create new synergies and undertake fresh initiatives in order to maintain standards and offer sustainable solutions. The conference will function as a platform for discussion and exchange of ideas by all professionals involved in protection management in these difficult times.

As there are many sectors of occupation which play an important role in protection management and which face serious challenges and threats in the present days but also in view of the future, we have identified 15 topics for distinctive panel discussions during the conference sessions.
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Intelligence Squared are organising a debate about whether the Parthenon Sculptures should be returned to Greece.

Speakers include Stephen Fry, who has recently written at length about why he supports the campaign for their return.

According to the website, the debate will also be later screened on BBC World News.

From:
Intelligence Squared

Send them back: The Parthenon Marbles should be returned to Athens
June 11th, 2012, Cadogan Hall
Doors open at 6pm. The debate will begin at 6.45pm and finish at 8.30pm

What’s all this nonsense about sending the Parthenon Marbles back to Greece? If Lord Elgin hadn’t rescued them from the Parthenon in Athens and presented them to the British Museum almost 200 years ago, these exquisite sculptures – the finest embodiment of the classical ideal of beauty and harmony – would have been lost to the ravages of pollution and time. So we have every right to keep them: indeed, returning them would set a dangerous precedent, setting off a clamour for every Egyptian mummy and Grecian urn to be wrenched from the world’s museums and sent back to its country of origin. It is great institutions like the British Museum that have established such artefacts as items of world significance: more people see the Marbles in the BM than visit Athens every year. Why send them back to relative obscurity?

But aren’t such arguments a little too imperialistic? All this talk of visitor numbers and dangerous precedents – doesn’t it just sound like an excuse for Britain to hold on to dubiously acquired treasures that were removed without the consent of the Greek people to whom they culturally and historically belong? That’s what Lord Byron thought, and now Stephen Fry is taking up the cause. We should return the Marbles as a gesture of solidarity with Greece in its financial distress, says Fry, and as a mark of respect for the cradle of democracy and the birthplace of rational thought.
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Michael J Reppas of the American Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures will be giving a lecture in Baltimore on the return of the Parthenon Marbles.

The lecture, organised in association with the National Hellenic Society, is titled “The controversial ownership of the Parthenon Marbles”.

It takes place on 27th April at 19:00, at the Garrison Forest School Auditorium, 300 Garrison Forest Road, Owings Mills, MD.

From:
Garrison Forest School

International attorney Michael Reppas and the Controversy surrounding the Parthenon Marbles
Friday, April 27, 7 PM
Middle School Auditorium
Garrison Forest School

Art, history, and mystery lovers of all ages will enjoy Mr. Reppas’ remarks on the international efforts to reunite the Parthenon (Elgin) Marbles and the historical, moral, and legal controversy surrounding the ownership of these treasures.

This program is brought to GFS by Niko Argeroplos, founder of the Hellenic Speaker Series at Park School and brother of Vasi (GFS 7th Grade), the National Hellenic Society and the American Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures.

This lecture is free and open to the public.

Please reserve your space by calling (617) 613-1526 or emailing nikoa2013@yahoo.com.

Michael Hoff is giving a lecture on the Elgin Marbles at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana on Thursday 12th April.

From:
Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Art historian speaks on archaeology controversy
Posted: Friday, April 6, 2012 12:00 am | Updated: 10:40 am, Thu Apr 5, 2012.

Michael Hoff presents “Lord Elgin and the Parthenon Marbles: Two Hundred Years of Controversy,” Thursday, April 12, at 6 p.m. at the Museum of the Rockies Hager Auditorium. Hosted by the Archaeological Institute of America, Bozeman chapter, this lecture is free and open to the public.

Thomas Bruce, the seventh Earl of Elgin, who had been appointed the English ambassador to the Ottoman court, was responsible for the removal of many of the sculpted statues and reliefs from the Parthenon. His purpose was to enlighten European culture by bringing to London examples of the best sculpture from Athens, and spurred on by the knowledge that Napoleon’s agents were also actively seeking to acquire the marbles. Elgin’s zeal, along with well-placed bribes, allowed his own agents to proceed beyond the original limits of his permit granted by the Turkish authorities.
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Imeros, an Athens based organisation have produced a new opera “Opus Elgin: the Destruction of the Parthenon”, about the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum. More information about it is available here.

Tickets for the event are available here.

Recieved by email.

World Premiere – New Greek Opera About The Return of The Parthenon Marbles From the British Museum – Press Release

Imeros is a non-for-profit organization (NFP) founded in 1995 by a group of scholars and artists based in Athens. Imeros aims to produce dance theater performances after research on a specific topic. Its original purpose was for actors, dancers, musicians and artists to collaborate and find new ways of expression. The Company was previously sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, but since February 2011 it is an independent Non-Profit Organization and its goal is to promote cultural development globally.

We are writing to invite you to our new opera “Opus Elgin: the Destruction of the Parthenon” (http://www.all4parthenon.gr/), which is an original opera by Theodore Stathis making its World Premiere on May 29th, 2012 at the Athens Concert Hall/Alexandra Triandi Stage at 8:00 PM, in Athens Greece.

We hope you can help spread the news or put us in touch with other organizations globally who are also engaged in this effort. We plan on bringing this opera around the world for the sole purpose of increasing awareness, but more importantly applying pressure on the British government to safely return the Parthenon Marbles to our new state-of the art Acropolis museum in Athens.

A debate about the Magdala treasures from Ethiopia (currently in the British Museum) is to be held in Brixton on Wednesday 11th April.

Received by email.

Dear members of the Anglican Communion,

Please accept our Jamaican-British Diamond and Golden Jubilee greetings and best wishes for our “Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty” in our season of rejoicing.

You are invited to attend our great Magdala debate on 11th April in Brixton, we have sent for your information 2 PDF Files, (1) The Great Magdala Debate, with the Queen’s Speech, and (2) AFROMET-Jamaica inspection of the Magdala Battlefield, the original battle took place on Friday 13th April 1868.

If you are unable to attend can you submit any comment, opinion and or observations that can serve to advance the great Magdala Debate, and to promote a better Christian vista?

Fro further information, contact seymour31@hotmail.co.uk

The Jamaica-British Diamond and Golden Jubilee OAU (AU) 2013, in association with the Office of the International Executive Secretary, EWF Inc, presents. The great Magdala debate, Action now.
On the 11th April 2012, 365, Brixton Road, SW9 7DA, next to Police Station
“Looting of Magdala, and the Looted treasures in England today. ” start time 7pm – 9pm Arrival 6.30pm. One Voice debate, Musical recital.

“there are indeed six Ethiopian manuscripts in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle”, looted at Magdala, The Triple Crown and Golden Chalice is in the V&A. 550 Ethiopian manuscripts from the Church of Madhane-Alem at Magdala in the British Library and other Library’s. Google AFROMET. New Jamaican national anthem.

As part of the Antipodes Festival, the Greek Community in Melbourne is organising a lecture on the Parthenon Marbles, which will take place on 1st April.

From:
neoskosmos.com

Lecture on the restitution of the Parthenon Marbles
28 Mar 2012

The Greek Community of Melbourne together with the Antipodes Festival invites you to attend A Lecture on the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles.

The issue of the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles continues to be the world’s most celebrated cultural property dispute. Since Lord Elgin took them, their history has been the subject of both neglect and controversy.
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