Association for Research into Crimes against Art

Association for Research into Crimes against Art
AbbreviationARCA
Formation2009 (2009)
FounderNoah Charney
TypeNGO
Websitewww.artcrimeresearch.org

The Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) is a non-governmental civil society organisation (CSO) that conducts scholarly research and training within the discipline of combatting cultural property crime.[1] Established in 2009 with the aim of exploring the gaps in the international legal framework which addresses art and antiquities crimes. ARCA was founded by Dr. Noah Charney, an art and art crime historian, as well as a published author.

Internationally recognized as an agency working in the highly specialized field of art crime research, ARCA's affiliate researchers have been interviewed in the press and asked to provide commentary on criminal incidents affecting the art market as well as to comment on incidences where art crimes overlap with other criminality such as: money laundering, organized crime, and terrorist financing.[2]

The Association's work has also been documented by governmental and non-governmental institutions as a useful resource in further understanding and interpreting art crimes. To do so, ARCA also maintains cooperative relationships both intergovernmental and non-governmental through cooperation agreements with international organizations, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), and the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Observatory of Illicit Traffic.[3][4][5]

  1. ^ Kila, J.D. (2012). Heritage under siege: military implementation of the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property. Brill. p. 57. ISBN 978-9004215689.
  2. ^ Kingston, Tom (12 August 2023). "Sicilian crime boss reveals the mafia's role in the illicit antiques trade". The Times. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  3. ^ "UNESCO Partners". UNESCO. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  4. ^ "The 1995 UNIDROIT Convention Academic Project - Facilitating the Study of the UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects". UNIDROIT. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Association for Research into Crimes Against Art". ICOM - Observatory of Illicit Trafic. International Council of Museums - ICOM. Retrieved 9 February 2024.