The work of restoring Syria’s cultural heritage after years of wartime looting goes beyond the antiquities trade.  Richard Harwood KC and Clarissa Levi talk to intelligence expert Anwar Darkazally of Field Intelligence about how thefts and looting can be stopped, and wounds inflicted by the conflict healed along the way. We discuss the work of Jonah X Projects.

What was it to be a pilgrim? How has pilgrimage continued over the centuries and how authentic are our modern pilgrim ways? Richard Harwood KC of 39 Essex Chambers and Clarissa Levi of BHL Art Group chat to Dr Emma Wells. Emma is the Head of Historic Buildings at SLR Consulting. Her book Pilgrim Routes of the British Isles is out in hardback and will be published in paperback early in 2025.

What are the joys and challenges of life in a castle? Richard Harwood KC of 39 Essex Chambers and Clarissa Levi of BHL Art Group speak with Charles Berkeley of Berkeley Castle about combining a family home and business, and looking to the future after nine centuries of castle life.

How does Artificial Intelligence affect art and cultural institutions? Richard Harwood KC of 39 Essex Chambers and Clarissa Levi of BHL Art Group talk to Emily Gould, Assistant Director of the Institute of Art and Law, to discuss the use of creative works for training generative AI; who owns rights to AI produced works; and the use of AI in art attribution. They try their hands at AI-produced art themselves, with slightly worrying results.

39 Essex Chambers barristers Richard Harwood KC and Clarissa Levi of BHL Group talk to Lucy Brown, Chief Executive of the Hugo Burge Foundation, about setting up an arts foundation. We explore how the founder’s vision became a reality, and the gifts of bringing artists and makers together.

When is an artwork part of a building or land? Or can you just take the statue with you when you sell up? Dr David Sawtell, barrister at 39 Essex Chambers, talks to Richard Harwood KC and Clarissa Levi from BHL Art Group about Henry Moore sculpture in London’s East End, statues of Greek athletes, tapestries and heirs behaving badly.

David is the co-author with Richard Harwood and Catherine Dobson of ‘Contested Heritage’ and of books on the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 and the Technology and Construction Court.

We often talk of the historic interest in buildings, but what does that mean to the historian? How does art help understand our past? Richard Harwood KC and Clarissa Levi from BHL Art Group talk to Dr Elizabeth Norton, a historian specialising in the Queens of England and the Tudor period, and the author of a number of highly readable books, including ‘The Lives of Tudor Women’ and ‘The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor’. We discuss walking the ground, Jane Seymour’s necklaces, what television dramas and films get right, and why archaeological consultants should be punching the air in delight.

How is the viability of a heritage project considered? When do the numbers stack up?

Richard Harwood KC of 39 Essex Chambers and Clarissa Levi of BHL Art Group talk to David Tomback OBE FRICS, the Development Economics Director of Historic England about optimum viable use, enabling development and climate change. As well as Modern Movement houses, restaurants and wedding venues …

What are the Parthenon Marbles? Were they lawfully removed from the Acropolis in Athens by Lord Elgin’s agents in the early Nineteenth Century? What ethical issues arise by their retention at the British Museum? How might the dispute be resolved?

Richard and Clarissa talk to Alexander Herman, Director of the Institute of Art and Law, about his brilliant new book The Parthenon Marbles Dispute, which is the first title in Hart Publishing’s new Art Law Library. Alex’s other book, Restitution: The Return of Cultural Artefacts is also available.

What do we value from our past, and how do we fund it? Richard and Clarissa discuss the impact of lottery funding on the UK’s heritage landscape, the additionality principle, and if we should celebrate a John Major Day. Insights from the heart of the heritage world with Dame Liz Forgan.