2026 Berkeley Art, Law, and Finance Symposium at SFMOMA
Thursday, June 4, 2026 @ 1:00 am - 5:30 pm
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Who owns culture? Who creates it? And who decides?
Museums face unprecedented political pressure. Indigenous communities continue reclaiming sacred objects from institutional collections. The art market confronts mounting demands for transparency. And as AI reshapes creativity, we find ourselves asking what authorship itself will mean.
This symposium brings together artists, scholars, curators, and legal practitioners to explore these intersecting challenges—from the constitutional boundaries of governmental authority over museums, ownership and monetization of Indigenous cultural property, and emerging questions of authorship in the age of artificial intelligence.
From stewardship to authorship, caring for art carries profound obligations. Join us for a day of critical conversation about who holds, who makes, and who governs art.
Confirmed speakers and topics of discussion include:
◆ Limits to federal authority over cultural institutions featuring Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean and Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
◆ Fireside chat with Sarah Sense featuring Sarah Sense, Artist and Robin Willscheidt, Fellow at the Berkeley Art, Law, and Finance Project
◆ Cultural property protection for Native Americans featuring Hillary Olcott, Curator, Arts of the Americas, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Sarah Sense, Artist, and Seth Davis, Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
◆ Law, ethics, and the visual arts featuring Simon Frankel, Judge, San Francisco Superior Court and Adine Varah, General Counsel, SFMOMA
◆ The ethics of ownership: financial crime and the custodian’s responsibility featuring Anthony Pickles, Director of Communications, The British Museum and Sharon Cohen Levin, Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell and former Chief of the Asset Forfeiture Unit, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and Eleanor Iris Gartstein, Berkeley Law JD ‘26
◆ Authorship reimagined: creativity, copyright, and AI featuring Daniel Etcovitch, Copyright Counsel, Anthropic, Anastasia Victor, Artist, and Edward Lee, Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law
These events are open only to UC Berkeley Law students, faculty, and staff, unless otherwise noted.
Events are wheelchair accessible. For disability-related accommodations, contact the organizer of the event. Advance notice is kindly requested.
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