The American Academy in Rome and Luiss University will host two interdisciplinary and international conversations on December 12, bringing together artists and scholars, scientists and creatives, to discuss the intersections, continuities, and disconnects in their collective work on cultural heritage and preservation.

Many basic elements regarding the circulation and safeguarding of objects were formulated long ago but are still in place today. Examples of preservation laws date back to ancient Rome or the Renaissance. Some can be found throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Yet the relationship between objects, and where, why, and how they are stored, is not always linear. This event will gather scholars, artists, activists, and museums professionals to investigate and contextualize the ways in which cultural patrimony came into existence. Speakers will also rethink how cultural heritage works.

AAR and Luiss University hope to lay the groundwork for continued exchange and unique and challenging conversations on some of the timeliest topics challenging our sense of ethics, purpose, and progress.

Opening Remarks

Andrea Prencipe
Rector, Luiss University

Aliza S. Wong
Director, American Academy in Rome

Speakers

Sara Petrilli-Jones
2024 Rome Prize Fellow, American Academy in Rome

Lucrezia Cippitelli
Professor, Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera

Mark Thatcher
Professor, Luiss University

Lorenzo Casini
Professor, Luiss University

Moderator

Rachel Donadio
Arts and Cultural Writer

Closing Remarks

Sofia Hina Fernandes Da Silva Ranchordas
Professor, Luiss University