AC Executive Director Tess Davis Featured as November’s AIA Virtual Lecturer
November 22, 2022
The Archaeological Institute of America is the oldest and largest organization in North America focused on archaeology, and the Antiquities Coalition has been proud to partner with the AIA since our founding. The AC’s Chair Deborah Lehr, an AIA General Trustee from 2013-2019, joined by Peter Herdrich, who served as an AIA Board Member and later CEO, created the Antiquities Coalition to fight back against cultural racketeering.
This November, Executive Director Tess Davis, who started her career at the AIA, was featured as the Virtual Lecturer of the Month. She presented two talks: Blood Antiquities: Tomb Raiders, Art Smugglers, and the Black Market in Cultural Treasures and The Wild, Wild East: Combating the Black Market in Ancient Asian Art.
Davis stressed the important role of archaeologists in raising awareness that antiquities trafficking is not a harmless crime. If you are a member of the AIA or an archaeologist interested in joining the fight to combat looting:
- Raise awareness about illicit trafficking and its harms to your community, students, and colleagues.
- Demand accountability from leading institutions when they exhibit stolen antiquities.
- During AIA letter writing campaigns, share your experience to help the U.S. Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) with deliberations that will help safeguard archaeological sites and objects.
And, follow the Antiquities Coalition on social media for the latest news, free resources, and calls to action.