PARIS, 13 June 2017 Original: French HEADQUARTERS COMMITTEE Hundred and ninety-fifth session (15-16 June 2017) Item 5 of the provisional agenda REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR WORKS OF ART
Executive Board Two hundred and second session 195 COM/SIEGE/INF.2 Rev. 202 EX/xx PARIS, 31 May 2017 Original: French Item XXX of the provisional agenda REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR WORKS OF ART SUMMARY In accordance with Article 11 of the Statutes of the Advisory Committee for Works of Art (ACWA), approved by the Executive Board at its 170th session (170 EX/Decision 7.9, Annex), the Committee ceased to function after its second term, which ended in December 2016. The Committee may be reinstated only with the approval of the Executive Board, following the Director-General s report to it on the Committee s activities. The Committee s Statutes have moreover been amended so as to mitigate the complications in the planning and frequency of meetings brought about by Committee members professional obligations, and so as to ensure smoother functioning in the future. In accordance with Article 10 of the Committee s Statutes, the amended Statutes, in annex hereto, are submitted to the Executive Board for approval. The Headquarters Committee examined this document at its 195th session (15 June 2017). This document has no financial implications. Action expected of the Executive Board: proposed decision in paragraph 16. 1. Pursuant to 160 EX/Decision 7.9 and 161 EX/Decision 7.9, UNESCO s Advisory Committee for Works of Art (ACWA) was established by DG/Note/04/17 of 12 May 2004 and is responsible for advising the Director-General on the suitability of donations and the artistic, architectural and financial implications of their acceptance, management and conservation, following the rules and criteria established by its members, namely material, artistic, ethical, regulatory and legislative criteria.
page 2 2. The Committee (ACWA) adopted its Rules of Procedure on 24 November 2006 at its first meeting. 3. As the term ended after the holding of the fourth meeting with the initial membership, it was renewed by the Executive Board for a second term by means of 185 EX/Decision 31. 4. In accordance with Article 3.1 of the Statutes of the Committee, which stipulates that it shall be composed of six high-level experts in the various disciplines and specializations relating to the cultural and artistic pluralism of the various geographical regions, the following experts were appointed for the Committee s second term: Ms Marie-France Calas, Honorary General Curator of the French Heritage (collections, intangible heritage); Ms Liêu Cao Thi, Engineer, Guimet Museum (French museum of Asian arts) (Asian art); Ms Clio Karageorghis, Head of the department of architecture and exhibition design at the Louvre Museum (exhibition design, collections); Mr Cyrille Cohen, Vice-President of Sotheby s France (modern and contemporary art, African art, indigenous art); Mr Carlos Cruz-Díez, Venezuelan artist (Latin-American art, contemporary art) (only member renewed from the previous membership); Mr Georges Zouain, Director-General of GAIA-Heritage (Arabic art). One Committee member was replaced at the second meeting, with Mr Francisco de Borja Garcia-Huidobro, architect, urban planner and painter (art of Latin America and the Caribbean) replacing Mr Carlos Cruz-Díez, who wished to withdraw from his duties. 5. All the members are experts in the field of art, sit in a personal capacity on the Committee and work with UNESCO on a voluntary basis. 6. The four meetings of the Committee s second term were held on 14 October 2011, 11 October 2012, 6 December 2013 and 16 December 2016. The lengthy delay between the third and fourth meetings may be explained primarily by a fall in the number of proposed donations during that period and then by repeated withdrawals and postponements throughout 2016 beyond the control of the Secretariat. 7. The Committee receives and considers proposals to donate works of art, together with relevant documentation compiled by the Secretariat (photographs of the works, biography of and bibliography on the artist, list of collections that include the artist s works, value, size, weight, and reports on technical conditions, etc.). 8. The Committee examines works according to the criteria adopted at its first meeting and based on the criteria traditionally recognized by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) for the acceptance of donations, namely material, artistic, ethical, regulatory and legislative criteria. It also makes a distinction between two categories of works: the Heritage Collection, which would include major works of art, and in particular original works, and the Regular Collection, which would include works of lesser artistic value that could also be displayed at Headquarters and in field offices. Only Heritage Collection works would feature on the website or in the official catalogue of UNESCO s collection of works of art.
page 3 9. Thirty-two works in all were submitted to the Committee at the four meetings of its second term. In accordance with the established criteria, three of the 32 works were recommended for the Heritage Collection and 13 for possible inclusion in the Regular Collection. Sixteen works were therefore not approved. The Committee s recommendations on the three works to be included in the Heritage Collection were accepted. Of the 13 works recommended for the Regular Collection, four were finally accepted in the Heritage Collection on the decision of the Director-General. 10. In addition, 22 works, considered as gifts, received mainly during official visits, were inventoried and then submitted to the Committee for its opinion as to possible inclusion in the collections. Eleven of the works were recommended for the Regular Collection. 11. The Committee examined and approved requests for the loan of works of art, including the loan to the Rijksmuseum, in Amsterdam, of the sculpture Spirale by Alexander Calder (summer 2014). The Committee was also informed of, and encouraged special projects such as the organization, in cooperation with Member States, of exhibitions on the theme Around the UNESCO Collection, focusing on an artist in the collection and including the work of art at UNESCO in a temporary exhibition staged at Headquarters. In particular, this led to exhibitions in 2014 on the work of Erró in conjunction with the Permanent Delegation of Iceland to UNESCO and the work of Jagoda Buic, in conjunction with the Permanent Delegation of Croatia to UNESCO. 12. The Committee was kept informed of and consulted on projects for the restoration, conservation and protection of works of art. It was also informed of restoration and cleaning procedures initiated or completed, with the contribution of Member States or directly by the Organization. 13. In accordance with Article 11 of its Statutes, approved by the Executive Board at its 170th session (170 EX/Decision 7.9, Annex), the Committee ceased to function after its second term of office and may be reinstated only with the approval of the Executive Board, following the Director- General s report to it on the Committee s activities. Once the Committee s renewed term of office has been approved, the members of the Committee will be appointed by the Director-General on the basis of equitable representation from geographical, cultural and artistic points of view. 14. Furthermore, given the increasing professional obligations and problems of availability of Committee members, and to mitigate the complications this brings about in the planning and frequency of meetings, the Statutes of the Advisory Committee for Works of Art have been amended so as to ensure smoother functioning in the future. 15. The amended Statutes are contained in Annex I hereto and will be submitted to the Executive Board for approval, in accordance with Article 10 of the Statutes. Annex II shows a comparative table of the revised articles. Draft decision 16. In the light of the foregoing, the Executive Board may wish to adopt a decision along the following lines: The Executive Board, 1. Having examined document 202 EX/, 2. Recalling 160 EX/Decision 7.9, 161 EX/Decision 7.9, 170 EX/Decision 7.9 and 185 EX/Decision 31, 3. Takes note of the report by the Director-General on the activities of the Advisory Committee for Works of Art concerning the donations of works of art and artefacts constituting the UNESCO collections;
page 4 4. Also takes note of the activities carried out by the Advisory Committee for Works of Art during its second term of office; 5. Expresses its gratitude for the work carried out by the outgoing members of the Committee; 6. Approves the decision of the Director-General to renew the term of office of the Advisory Committee for Works of Art for another four years, in accordance with its Statutes; 7. Approves the amendments to the Statutes of the Advisory Committee for Works of Art as set out in Annex 1 to document 202 EX/.
Annex I ANNEX I STATUTES OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR WORKS OF ART (Amended version submitted for approval) Article 1 An Advisory Committee for Works of Art owned by UNESCO, hereafter referred to as the Committee, is hereby established. Article 2 Functions The Committee shall: advise the Organization on the development and implementation of the procedure applicable to acceptance, inventories, present location, and maintenance of donations, bequests, gifts of works of art, antiquities and artefacts offered to UNESCO; advise the Director-General on the artistic value and the possible technical implications for the Organization of donations, the artistic and financial consequences of accepting donations, management, security problems related to donations and all other matters related thereto; assist the Organization in defining the needs relating to the upkeep of works of art and the mobilization of extrabudgetary resources therefor. Article 3 Membership and term of office 3.1 The Committee shall be composed of six members and six alternates, high-level experts in the various disciplines and specializations relating to the cultural and artistic pluralism of the various geographical regions. 3.2 The members and alternates shall be appointed by the Director-General, taking into consideration equitable The members and alternates shall be independent and shall sit in a personal capacity and shall serve on a voluntary basis. 3.3 The term of office of Committee members and alternates shall be four years. The term of office of Committee members and alternates shall be renewable immediately, subject to the provisions of Article 11 of the present Statutes. 3.4 If a Committee member is unable to perform his or her duties during a session, the Director- General shall appoint an alternate to replace him or her for the duration of the session concerned, taking into consideration equitable 3.5 In the event of resignation, incapacity, death or any other circumstance in which the term of office of a Committee member is cut short, the Director-General shall appoint an alternate to replace the member for the duration of the remaining term, taking into consideration equitable Article 4 Observers The Committee may invite observers to its sessions.
Annex I page 2 Article 5 Sessions and agenda 5.1 The Director-General shall convene an ordinary session of the Committee in principle once a year. He or she may convene extraordinary sessions. 5.2 The Director-General shall establish the agenda for the sessions of the Committee after consultation with the Committee s Chairperson. Article 6 Recommendations 6.1 After each session, the Committee shall submit to the Director-General a report on its work and recommendations. The Director-General shall inform the Executive Board in due course once a year of the results of the work of the Committee. 6.2 The Committee s recommendations shall be adopted by consensus. Any member of the Committee shall have the right to record a dissenting opinion. Article 7 Bureau 7.1 The Committee shall elect its Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Rapporteur, who together shall constitute its Bureau. 7.2 The members elected to the Bureau shall exercise their functions until the second session following their election. 7.3 Outgoing members of the Bureau shall be eligible for re-election. 7.4 The Director-General shall convene the meetings of the Bureau. 7.5 In the interval between sessions, the Bureau shall ensure the execution of tasks entrusted to it by the Committee. Article 8 Secretariat 8.1 The Director-General shall appoint members of the UNESCO Secretariat to represent him or her on the Committee and the Bureau, without the right to vote. 8.2 The secretariat of the Committee shall be provided by the UNESCO Secretariat. Article 9 Rules of Procedure The Committee shall adopt its Rules of Procedure which shall be submitted to the Director-General for approval. Article 10 Amendments The Statutes of the Committee may be modified by the Executive Board on its own initiative or in response to a proposal by the Director-General. Article 11 End of the term of office The Committee shall be renewed every four years only with the approval of the Executive Board, following the Director-General s report on the Committee s activities.
Annex II ANNEX II COMPARATIVE TABLE OF THE STATUTES OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR WORKS OF ART (Revised articles) Number Current text Amended text Article 3 3.1 The Committee shall be composed of six highlevel experts in the various disciplines and specializations relating to the cultural and artistic pluralism of the various geographical regions. 3.2 The members shall be appointed by the Director- General, taking into consideration equitable The members shall be independent and shall sit in a personal capacity. The members shall serve on a voluntary basis. 3.3 The term of office of Committee members shall be four years. The Committee shall be composed of six members and six alternates, high-level experts in the various disciplines and specializations relating to the cultural and artistic pluralism of the various geographical regions. The members and alternates shall be appointed by the Director- General, taking into consideration equitable The members and alternates shall be independent and shall sit in a personal capacity and shall serve on a voluntary basis. The term of office of Committee members and alternates shall be four years. The term of office of Committee members and alternates shall be renewable immediately, subject to the provisions of Article 11 of the present Statutes. 3.4 (new) If a Committee member is unable to perform his or her duties during a session, the Director-General shall appoint an alternate to replace him or her for the duration of the session concerned, taking into consideration equitable
Annex II page 2 3.5 (currently 3.4) In the event of resignation, incapacity, death or any other circumstance in which the term of office of a Committee member is cut short, the Director-General shall appoint a replacement for the remainder of his or her term of office. In the event of resignation, incapacity, death or any other circumstance in which the term of office of a Committee member is cut short, the Director-General shall appoint an alternate to replace the member for the duration of the remaining term, taking into consideration equitable Article 9 Article 11 The Committee shall adopt its Rules of Procedure at its first session. They shall be submitted to the Director- General for approval. The Committee shall cease to function after an initial four-year term and may be reinstated only with the approval of the Executive Board, following the Director-General s report on the Committee s activities. The Committee shall adopt its Rules of Procedure which shall be submitted to the Director-General for approval. The Committee shall be renewed every four years only with the approval of the Executive Board, following the Director-General s report on the Committee s activities. Printed on recycled paper