The XX Heidelberg Art Law Conference, taking place on 23 and 24 October 2026, will explore the diverse legal challenges facing the international art world. Under the overarching theme “Art Without Borders – The Borders of Law” (“Kunst Ohne Grenzen – Grenzen des Rechts”),  leading experts from academia and practice will examine contemporary issues in art law, ranging from the global dynamics of the art market and the protection of cultural heritage to questions of artistic freedom, copyright, and provenance research.

The first day of the conference is focused on the international dimensions of art law. Professor Dr Dirk Boll (Attorney, Deputy Chairman at Christie’s for 20^th and 21^st Century Art) will open the conference by examining the opportunities and limitations of the global art market. He will be followed by Dr. Christina Berking (Attorney, Partner at BUSE), who will address the tension between the international art trade and national cultural property protection. Benjamin Dürr (Diplomat, Lawyer, and Author in International Law and International Relations) will then consider the relationship between artworks and nationhood from the perspective of public international law, before Dr. Annette Löseke (Professor of Art and New Museum Studies at Braunschweig University of Art) discusses the treatment of “contested” cultural heritage in the post-digital age through the example of the Pergamon Panorama exhibition in Berlin.

The second day focuses on constitutional, technological, and postcolonial perspectives. Dr. Jannis Lennartz (Professor of Public Law at the Humboldt University of Berlin) will examine artistic freedom and its constitutional limits. Marcus Off (Actor and Voice Actor) and Dr. Till Völger (Attorney, BFFS) will present a timely discussion of copyright law, addressing the question of who owns the voices of dubbing actors in the age of artificial intelligence. The conference will conclude with a visit to the Ethnographic Museum, Heidelberg (J. & E. von Portheim Foundation Heidelberg). There, Feyzanur Bayram, M.A., will explore the treatment of sensitive museum collections in her presentation ‘Human or Object?,’ followed by Marlies Weileder, who will present current perspectives on provenance research. In doing so, the XX Heidelberg Art Law Conference offers a forum for interdisciplinary dialogue at the intersection of legal scholarship, cultural policy, and museum practice.