Armenian Genocide Looted Art Research Project (AGLARP)

The Armenian Genocide Looted Art Research Project (AGLARP) is a multidisciplinary, collaborative initiative housed within the Armenian Genocide Research Program (AGRP) at The Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA. The project brings together a distinguished network of partners, including the Ararat-Eskijian Museum; Christina Maranci, Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University; Michael Bazyler of Chapman University's Fowler School of Law; Marc Mamigonian, Director of Academic Affairs at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR); Professor Lauren Fielder of the Institute of Transnational Law at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law; and Jonathan Petropoulos, John V. Croul Professor of European History at Claremont McKenna College, who serves as an advisor.

Background and Origins

The AGLARP was established in response to the United States' formal recognition of the Armenian Genocide — first through two congressional resolutions passed by both houses of Congress in 2019, and subsequently through President Biden's official declaration in 2021. This recognition created a new legal and political framework for pursuing justice, including the restitution of Armenian Genocide Looted Art (AGLA) and religious objects.

To explore these possibilities, the AGRP hosted its first major conference at UCLA on March 25, 2023, titled "What's Next?: Armenian Genocide Restitution in the Post-Recognition Era." The conference addressed critical questions: What are the possibilities of building an Armenian Genocide reparations movement following U.S. recognition? What avenues does the American legal system offer for restitution? Can the Holocaust restitution movement serve as a model?

The keynote address was delivered by Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, who drew on his extensive experience as Special Representative of the President and Secretary of State on Holocaust-Era Issues during the Clinton administration — and in successive administrations — to offer a roadmap for action. Ambassador Eizenstat urged participants to help create the right legal and political climate for the Armenian Genocide restitution movement, emphasizing the importance of solutions that recognize the historical suffering of the Armenian people. These discussions ultimately led the AGRP to formally establish the AGLARP.

Research Activities

During the summer of 2023, the AGLARP assembled a team of art history and law students to conduct open-source provenance research on Armenian cultural heritage objects that may have been looted during the Genocide, wherever they are located in the world today. The research team was led and advised by Art History Professor Heghnar Watenpaugh of the University of California, Davis, alongside Michael Bazyler and AGRP Director Taner Akçam. The project aimed to deepen understanding of the cultural losses of the Armenian Genocide and to identify areas for further inquiry into the provenance and history of AGLA.

Building on these findings, UCLA hosted a second conference on February 10, 2024, titled "Armenian Genocide Looted Art and Restitution." The conference examined the role of cultural heritage in genocide restitution, the importance of provenance research, and the ethical obligations of institutions holding potentially looted objects. Ambassador Eizenstat again delivered the keynote address, underscoring the power of public awareness in advancing justice: "Publicity is the most important way to put an ethical and moral spotlight on the need to find a just and fair solution. Historical facts can be covered up and suppressed for a very long time, but in the end, they have a way of bubbling up."

The February conference also featured a documentary screening about the March 2023 conference, presentations of the AGLARP's research findings, and a roundtable discussion on implications for both past and current events — as well as what lies ahead for the project. Since February 2024, the AGLARP has continued expanding upon its Summer 2023 provenance research, with these ongoing efforts led by Atineh Movsesian, a participant in the original summer research session.

Goals and the Path Forward

The AGLARP's core mission is twofold: to advance research on Armenian art, cultural heritage, and other objects that were looted, destroyed, or forcibly transferred in connection with the Armenian Genocide; and to engage in critical thinking and concrete action on the dimensions of justice, dialogue, restitution, and repair for the cultural losses arising from that Genocide.

To achieve this mission, the AGLARP is working toward the following goals:

Expand provenance research into cultural heritage objects identified during the Summer 2023 research project, tracing their origins through channels such as eBay and auction houses.
Establish the UCLA Principles on Armenian Genocide Looted Art, modeled after the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art (1998).
Advocate for legislation similar to the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act of 2016, encouraging the Armenian community to develop a comparable framework.
Establish an Office of Special Envoy for Justice for Armenians, modeled after the U.S. State Department's Office of the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, as a key institution for reparation and restitution efforts.
Partner with museums, organizations, and institutions to learn from their experiences repatriating looted cultural artifacts.
Build an interdisciplinary academic curriculum in collaboration with partner universities — UCLA, Chapman University's Fowler School of Law, Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, and Claremont McKenna College — including cross-listed courses across disciplines.
Join the global repatriation movement, grounded in both legal and ethical considerations.
Raise public awareness about the history and significance of Armenian cultural heritage objects and the stories behind them.
Organize events — including conferences and exhibitions — in coordination with Armenian community organizations, connecting efforts in the U.S. and abroad as part of a broader movement.
Mobilize the Armenian diaspora through public relations campaigns, cultural programming, digital media, and publications.

Ultimately, the AGLARP seeks to catalyze an Armenian Genocide Restitution movement — one that, like the Holocaust restitution movement before it, finds solutions that recognize historical suffering and delivers some measure of justice. These efforts will be overseen by a Coordinating Committee comprising experts in art history, law, and genocide studies.