Art crime is often framed through dramatic museum heists or high‑profile Nazi‑looted art cases, but these represent only a small part of the field. Drawing on his experience as an investigator, Will Korner explores the real mechanics of modern art crime: how objects are stolen, trafficked, misrepresented, or lost; how they move through the art market; and how investigators trace and recover them. Within this context, the lecture focuses on fascinating cases and investigations that define art crime today – from thefts affecting private individuals, to cultural objects displaced during conflict and instability – from Ukraine to Sudan, from Syria to Bolivia. Will discusses how research, documentation, and international cooperation support the identification and return of cultural property, and how these everyday cases reflect wider contemporary politics, risks, and debates within the cultural sector

About the Lecturer

WILL KORNER

Will Korner is the Head of Fairs at TEFAF, overseeing the world’s leading art and antiques fairs in Maastricht and New York. He was previously the Manager of International Art Fairs at the Art Loss Register (ALR) for 8 years, heading up the ALR’s vetting team at TEFAF, Art Basel and many other of the world’s main art fairs. Will manages relationships with art dealers and private clients, and is an Antiquities Specialist working with governments, ministries and archaeologists internationally to recover and repatriate cultural property. He has also founded and runs the Cultural Heritage At Risk Database (CHARD), an international charity that registers collections at archaeological sites, museums and other depositories that might be ‘at risk’. Bases in London and Amsterdam.