Museums moving to protect works of cultural significance when danger threatens

The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) today announced the release of “Protocols for Safe Havens for Works of Cultural Significance from Countries in Crisis” to help safeguard irreplaceable works of art and archeological materials that are currently in danger of destruction. The Protocols provide a framework for museums to provide safe havens for works that are at risk because of violent conflict, terrorism, or natural disasters. Under the Protocols, owners/depositors whose works are at risk of damage or destruction can request safe haven at an AAMD member museum where the works will be held until they can be safely returned. All works deposited with AAMD member museums as safe havens will be treated as loans. To ensure transparency, AAMD member museums accepting such works will register them on a new section of AAMD’s online Object Registry, where information on the objects will be publicly available. 

The full Protocols are available here.