Khamal Patterson
Assistant Director- IDEA Task Force, The University of Mississippi, Center for Air and Space Law Cultural property lawyer researching the links between art and artifact trafficking and organized crime. Examined criminal syndicates operating in Europe, the Levant, and Latin America.
About this speaker
Khamal is a cultural property attorney and researcher in Maryland. He is keenly interested in preserving the continuity of traditional knowledge and applying it to modern challenges. The preservation and protection of cultural space and objects are crucial for continuing intangible heritage practices. Khamal works with ARTIVE, a cultural heritage database for artworks and artifacts. ARTIVE and its partner, the Arc/k Project, recently placed in a global competition on transformational information technology in cultural heritage.
Both organizations will be engaged in the digital preservation of vernacular architecture in Syria. Khamal is a lead on this project that will train local citizens to capture historic structures, architectural features, and artifacts. ARTIVE’s database will serve as a repository for the data on cultural objects vulnerable to looting and trafficking. ARTIVE believes that collaborative partnerships, like the one it enjoys with Arc/k, are crucial to preventing heritage trafficking by fostering community engagement. Khamal shares this belief. He wants to protect heritage by helping communities be heard, feel empowered, and get involved.
