Join us for a breakfast reception and registration from 8:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., where you can enjoy breakfast while checking in and networking with fellow attendees before the event begins.

SPEAKERS

Mark E. Wallace,

Director, Smithsonian Institution’s Office of Protection Services and Chair for the National Conference on Cultural Property Protection

Jeffrey Anoka,

Administrator and Chief Operating Officer, National Gallery of Art

Art crime is one of the most lucrative and complex illicit trades in the world, involving theft, forgery, and the underground movement of priceless works. This moderated session features Tim Carpenter and his extensive experience in investigating art crimes, shedding light on the intricate world of stolen masterpieces and fraudulent schemes. Attendees will gain insight into the evolving methods of art criminals and the critical role of collaboration among law enforcement, cultural property institutions, and international agencies in solving these cases. 

SPEAKERS

Tim Carpenter

Managing Director, Argus Cultural Property Consultants

Dylan Garon

Deputy Director for Physical Security and Business Operations, Smithsonian’s Office of Protection Services

The transportation of cultural property — whether fine art, archival materials, or living collections — presents unique and complex security challenges. This panel brings together experts from museums, zoos, law enforcement, and art transport to explore the risks, planning strategies, and interagency collaborations that ensure the safe movement of collections across cities, countries, and continents.

From high-value artworks to live elephants, panelists will share real-world case studies and operational insights. Topics include international transport logistics, confidentiality and tracking protocols, budget-conscious planning, and the role of security in registrar and collections management workflows.

SPEAKERS

Jenn Donato

Registrar, National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Tony Barthel

National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute – Animal Care Sciences

Steven Hellman

Associate Chief Security Officer, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Genia Reaves

Chief of Protection Services at the National Gallery of Art

Rebecca Myles

Associate Registrar for Loans, National Gallery of Art

Join us for an engaging discussion surrounding the connectivity of global incidents and how these may impact risk assessments and mitigation programs within our own institutions. How do we evaluate a global event? What makes an event significant to us? How do we find and use information effectively?

This roundtable will discuss these questions and more, as well as proposing ideas and tools we can use to forecast impacts and share critical information within the cultural property community.

NGA has generously provided a 20% discount at the cafes and gift shop to all conference attendees! Simply show your badge at checkout.  

Refuel with five unique dining experiences across our campus, from lattes in the Garden Café to homemade flatbreads in the Sculpture Garden’s Pavilion Café. 

Cascade Café and Espresso & Gelato Bar are located on our lower level Concourse between our East and West Buildings and offer views of our waterfall as well as access to our gift shop. 

Cascade Café 

11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. 

Discover an ever-changing selection of fresh pizzas, grill items, salads, and grab-and-go offerings in a food-court environment.

Espresso & Gelato Bar 

10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. 

Enjoy sandwiches, salads, handcrafted gelato, bottled beverages, and coffee beverages.  

The threat landscape is constantly evolving and is more than ever engaged with the interconnective nature of the global community. These elements of evolution and global interconnectivity are a 24-hour-per-day cycle as threats continue to develop. Maintaining the public’s confidence in our ability to provide the highest level of protection to visitors, staff, and collections is predicated on our specific jurisdiction. In order to be successful, we must delay and intercept a bad action from ever occurring. If we respond to the aftermath, we have failed.

The current threat landscape is further complicated; there is domestic discontent that runs the full spectrum of social concerns. In this session, we will discuss the Smithsonian’s approach to the identification, analysis, and mitigation of known and unknown demonstrations in order to best protect our cultural properties. 

Through the Smithsonian’s almost 200-year history of caring for its vast array of collections, it has, in turn, amassed an immense wealth of collections management knowledge. This professional knowledge has been acquired through daily operations, research, and, unfortunately, through its staff experiences during emergencies.  

As the history and culture of communities continue to be threatened or impacted by disasters, the Smithsonian realizes that its honed professional knowledge could be immensely helpful to all who take care of heritage. The Smithsonian’s two collections disaster-focused entities, the Preparedness and Response in Collections Emergencies program and the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative, both improve the Smithsonian’s ability to care for its own massive collection, as well as share that information with others who are facing similar risks. This session will briefly touch on both programs, their partnership, and how those interested can connect with these two organizations. 

This panel will look at the concept that security is security no matter the size of the organization or how specialized it may be. From entire campuses to individual exhibits, this discussion will show how to access and communicate risks in both. The complexity of the risk management tool changes with location and the type of exhibit. We will also show how to communicate the assessment from non-security persons to seasoned professionals.

As cultural institutions continue to prioritize visitor experience, training frontline staff requires a careful balance between hospitality and security. At the Getty Museum, a new Visitor Experience initiative has prompted a shift in how Security Officers and Visitor Services Associates (VSAs) engage with guests — encouraging warm welcomes, proactive guidance, and interpretive dialogue in gallery spaces. However, this shift also creates tension at the intersection of roles: while VSAs invite and inform, Security Officers are tasked with safeguarding both visitors and artworks — often through enforcement.

This session will explore how Learning & Development at the Getty is navigating this complexity through role-specific and cross-departmental training. By recognizing the unique responsibilities of each group and emphasizing shared institutional goals, we are developing new onboarding and ongoing education that fosters empathy, collaboration, and mutual understanding. The session will also highlight a budding partnership with colleagues across the institution, including the Conservation, Curatorial, and Education departments. These collaborations are helping shape more integrated training experiences for frontline staff, ensuring that both Security Officers and VSAs are equipped with the knowledge, awareness, and skills needed to support the protection, interpretation, and engagement of cultural property. 

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the challenges and opportunities of redefining visitor engagement roles in a museum context.
• Learn strategies for creating training that acknowledges functional differences while building shared purpose.
• Explore how partnerships between Training, Security & Visitors Services, Conservation, Curatorial, and Education can enhance frontline impact.
• Gain tools for facilitating dialogue and collaboration between departments with distinct but complementary missions.

This panel discussion explores how museums are harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance security, streamline operations, and inform strategic decision-making across a wide range of applications. Panelists will share how they’ve strengthened their security posture through advanced surveillance technologies, anomaly detection, and predictive monitoring.

The conversation will also examine how AI is influencing policy development — guiding institutions in establishing ethical guardrails that align with their missions and values. These policies play a critical role in ensuring transparency, accountability, and appropriate human oversight.

SPEAKERS

Mark E. Wallace,

Director, Smithsonian Institution’s Office of Protection Services and Chair for the National Conference on Cultural Property Protection

Genia Reaves

Chief of Protection Services at the National Gallery of Art

Enjoy private access to the National Gallery of Art’s East Building collections until 6:30 p.m., including:

• Alexander Calder: A Survey
• American Places: Featuring Selections from the Corcoran Collection
• Room-Like: Contemporary Art from the Collection
• Mark Rothko: Bodies in Space
• Barnett Newman: The Stations of the Cross
• Amedeo Modigliani
• The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection
• With Passion and Purpose: Gifts from the Collection of Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson

We recommend taking public transportation. The nearest Metro station is Archives-Navy Memorial Penn Quarter. Metro buses stop along Constitution Avenue NW.  

This information is available in Español, Français, Pусский, 中文, 日本語, Italiano, and Deutsch. 

Parking 

We only offer accessible parking and do not have a public parking facility. We have limited parking set aside for vehicles bearing appropriate tags or placards for visitors with disabilities on the 4th Street Plaza outside of the East Building. 

Entrance:

All visitors must pass through security before entering. 

Bags and other containers may be inspected after you pass through our security gates. 

While on our campus, you may not:

• Destroy, damage, or remove property.
• Climb on any part of the building or exhibits.
• Use loud or abusive language, or perform obscene or indecent acts.
• Loiter, sleep, or participate in unauthorized assemblies.
• Engage in disorderly conduct.
• Smoke or vape; use, possess, or sell illegal drugs.

We offer free public Wi-Fi for your convenience across our campus. Accessible by selecting the “NGA_Public_WiFi” network. 

Talking on mobile phones is not permitted in the galleries or auditorium. 

NGA has generously provided a 20% discount at the cafes and gift shop to all conference attendees! Simply show your badge at checkout.  

Refuel with five unique dining experiences across our campus, from lattes in the Garden Café to homemade flatbreads in the Sculpture Garden’s Pavilion Café. 

Cascade Café and Espresso & Gelato Bar are located on our lower level Concourse between our East and West Buildings and offer views of our waterfall as well as access to our gift shop. 

Cascade Café 

Hours:  11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. 

Discover an ever-changing selection of fresh pizzas, grill items, salads, and grab-and-go offerings in a food-court environment. 

Espresso & Gelato Bar 

Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. 

Enjoy sandwiches, salads, handcrafted gelato, bottled beverages, and coffee beverages.