IFAR Event: The Who, What, Why and How of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC)

The International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR) has published an edited version of the panel discussion of former and current CPAC members I first blogged about back in April 2008. See: http://culturalpropertyobserver.blogspot.com/2008/04/who-what-why-and-how-of-cultural.html

I hope to summarize the presentations by Jay Kislak, Patty Gerstenblith, Nancy Wilkie, Kate Fitz Gibbon and Jack Josephson in upcoming blog entries. Overall, the speakers representing the archaeological community (Patty Gerstenblith and Nancy Wilkie) had few qualms about the State Department's processing of import restriction requests. On the other hand, the other speakers, including former Chairs Josephson and Kislak, expressed some grave reservations about the State Department's fidelity to the governing statute as well as deep concerns about transparency of process, particularly given the controversial decision to extend import restrictions to coins of Cypriot type.

IFAR's journal is available for purchase here: http://www.ifar.org/publication_detail.php?docid=1244751010 I recommend this issue to anyone interested in how CPAC "really works." Hopefully, someone will bring it to the attention of President Obama's new Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy, Judith McHale.