Threats to cultural heritage are on the rise globally, owing to factors ranging from war and intentional destruction to unfettered development and climate change. The 2025 Templeton Colloquium in Art History at UC Davis — Cultural Heritage at Stake: Between Conservation and Criminality — debates cultural heritage today and explores the stakes for the protection of culture around the globe.
This year’s event has been organized and will be moderated by Heghnar Watenpaugh, professor of art and architectural history in the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis. The colloquium, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. with a reception to follow.
"The intentional destruction of cultural properties is a worrisome global phenomenon today,” said Watenpaugh. “International organizations have largely failed to prevent destruction or to demand accountability for past actions. This is one of the most pressing subjects at the center of cultural heritage today.”
“The Templeton Colloquium is a forum where the most incisive voices weigh in on a crucial topic in art history. We are very fortunate this year to have two extraordinary speakers — one from the world of academia and one from the world of journalism and art criticism, to discuss this issue from multiple perspectives.” — Heghnar Watenpaugh
This year’s speakers will examine the issues challenging culture preservation internationally.
Lynn Meskell, professor of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and a curator in the Middle East and Asia sections at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, will discuss “How and Why We Weaponize the Past.” In her presentation, the scholar will explore the roles of two intersecting international organizations (UNSESCO and NATO) that sought to combat the fallout from ruin warfare and their respective aspirations for mission success.
Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief and co-founder of the online arts publication Hyperallergic, art critic, curator, artist and lecturer, and recipient of the Susan C. Larsen Lifetime Achievement Award 2024, will also present. His talk, “Critics of Empire: Negative Space and Complicity,” will consider our roles as cultural producers and managers and how we are part of the erasure of cultures and histories, even if inadvertently.
Co-sponsored by the Department of Art and Art History and the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, the colloquium is made possible through an endowment established by Alan Templeton (B.A., art history and psychology, ‘82). The Templeton Colloquium brings to campus distinguished speakers for a conversation on vital debates and topics in art history for both scholars and a general audience.
“With its two art museums — the Manetti Shrem Museum and the Gorman Museum of Native American Art — the new curriculum in Museum Studies in the Department of Art and Art History, and its storied legacy in the arts, UC Davis is in a unique position to provide leadership in these difficult and complex debates in the art world, and to fulfill our mission of cutting edge research and thoughtful teaching,” said Watenpaugh.
The Department of Art and Art History is part of the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis.
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