Risk, Resilience & Accountability: The Challenge of Managing Cultural Collections

UK Registrars GroupMay 2014

These slides are freely available...

www.slideshare.net/collectionstrust

Introducing Collections Trust

• Team of 12 based at the Natural History Museum in London

• Promoting the education of the public by supporting museum development since 1977

• We develop, promote, maintain and improve standards of collections and information management in museums

• We provide services and resources which help museums improve the

resilience and use of their collections

What we do

• Our aim is to connect the public to collections by:

– Developing the collections workforce– Demonstrating the value of good collections management– Building digital capacity for museums– Delivering an excellent organisation

Forthcoming programmes

• Our main programmes for 2014-15 are:

– Risk, Resilience & Rationalisation– Cultural Property management– Digital Asset Management for Museums– Going Digital (back-to-basics IT)– Collections standards & best practice– Participation & diversity in collections

What are the outcomes your museum is trying to achieve?

Outcomes?

• Transparency• Accountability• Sustainability• Legal compliance• Representativeness• Honesty• Inclusivity• Popularity• Being a really good, fun museum..?

How does your museum go about achieving these outcomes?

INSTITUTIONAL

PROFESSIONAL

LEGAL

The management of risk, resilience and public accountability are a product of legal compliance, professional practice and good museum management.

AMOUNT OF TROUBLE YOU’LL

BE IN IF SOMEONE SCREWS UP

The problem is, it isn’t possible for everyone to be (a) a lawyer and (b) on top of their game every day...

REFLECT & PROMOTE LEGAL & ETHICAL COMPLIANCE

PROVIDE GUIDELINES AND TOOLS TO ENSURE THAT THE

DAILY WORK IS AS COMPLIANT AS REALISTICALLY POSSIBLE

The aim isn’t to exclude all risk, but to create as professional & accountable a culture as possible and to take balanced decisions about risk as you go along

What is risk?

• “Risk – combination of threat and likelihood of it occurring. Risk is the potential for a chosen action or activity (including the choice of inaction) to lead to a loss.”

- Museums Accreditation Standard, Arts Council England 2013

Controlling risk

PEOPLECOLLECTIONS

BUILDINGSINFORMATION

SECURITY

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

DOCUMENTATIONHOUSEKEEPING

FINANCEBUSINESS

CONTINUITY

ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

PEST MANAGEMENT

COLLECTIONS CARE CONSERVATION

HR/PERSONNEL IT/SYSTEMS

Controlling risk

PEOPLECOLLECTIONS

BUILDINGSINFORMATION

SECURITY

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

DOCUMENTATIONHOUSEKEEPING

FINANCEBUSINESS

CONTINUITY

ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

PEST MANAGEMENT

COLLECTIONS CARE CONSERVATION

HR/PERSONNEL IT/SYSTEMS

So what are the specific risks attendant on managing ‘cultural property’ and how can they be dealt with?

Cultural Property is defined* as “immovables and movables, including monuments of architecture, art or history, archaeological sites, works of art, books, manuscripts and other objects of artistic, historical or archaeological interest, as well as scientific collections of all kinds, regardless of their origin or ownership”

So, everything, basically...

*1954 Hague Convention on Cultural Property

Key Cultural Property challenges

• Illicit trade• Restitution & repatriation• Dealing with Human Remains• Looted Art 1933-45 (spoliation)• Media & public relations

Legal requirements

• Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003

• 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property

• 1954 Hague Convention Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (not ratified in the UK)

• National Export Regulations (change all the time!)

What you can do:

• Keep abreast of legislative change• When in doubt, call the Arts Council England AEL Unit or DCMS!

Combating illicit trade

• Trade in objects illicitly removed from archaeological sites or monuments• Traffic in objects stolen from their rightful owners• Illegal export of an object by its rightful owner

Legal:Dealing in Cultural Property (Offences) Act 2005

Professional:Included in both the MA Code of Ethics & the SPECTRUM standard

InstitutionalDue Diligence policies covering Acquisitions & Loanseg. V&A Due Diligence Policy for Works of Art & Cultural Property for Loan

Restitution & repatriation

• Repatriation is the return of cultural objects to a nation or state at the request of a government

• Restitution is the return of cultural objects to an individual or a community

Legal:No firm legal basis for dealing with requests for return

Professional:Excellent guidance under the MA Code of Ethics [Articles 5.0 – 5.23] and

Policy Statement on Repatriation of Cultural Property

InstitutionalHave an appropriate process in place for handling requests and make sure staff

know where to direct enquiries.

Human Remains

• Trade in objects illicitly removed from archaeological sites or monuments• Traffic in objects stolen from their rightful owners• Illegal export of an object by its rightful owner

Legal:Human Tissue Act 2004 and Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006

Professional:Guidance on the responsible management of Human Remains from DCMS

InstitutionalInstitutional on the care, storage & display of Human Remains in collectionseg. Wellcome Collection Policy on the Care of Human Remains

Looted Art 1933-45

• Cultural objects and works of art were systematically looted by the Nazis and others during the Second World War and the Holocaust Era from 1933-1945; an activity which is often described as spoliation.

Legal:‘Public collections’ are legally required to undertake research into objects of

unknown provenance between 1933-45 & make this information available

Professional:Cultural Property Advice guidance on researching validity & managing risk

InstitutionalIf you believe there are at-risk items in your collection, contact the DCMS

Spoliation Advisory Panel

Our approach to these risks has to be proportionate – a culture of good governance, transparency, due diligence, collections management and professional competence will avoid problems before they arise.

Links & Resources

• www.culturalpropertyadvice.gov.uk

• www.collectionslink.org.uk

• http://www.museumsassociation.org/ethics

• http://www.dcms.gov.uk

• Arts Council England Cultural Property Unit

• This presentation on Slideshare – www.slideshare.net/collectionstrust

Keep in touch!

OpenCulture 2014 conference, 25th & 26th June, Kia Oval, Londonwww.collectionslink.org.uk/openculture2014

nick@collectionstrust.org.uk

Follow us on twitter: @NickPoole1 and @CollectionTrust

Thank you!