I just found my next degree program

There's an article in the Times today about an association called the Association for Research into Crimes against Art that offers an MA in Art Crime. Is this the coolest thing ever? Yes.

The 9-month long program covers all aspects of art crime, from forgery to art theft, and is geared toward post-graduate students from all fields--lawyers, security professionals, students of art history, criminology, and conservation. All this, and the schooling takes place in Amelia, Italy, in Umbria, as if it could get any better.

Check out the ARCA's website for more information. Who's in?

Art Links (and a Watermill!)

-China agrees to lend art from its National Palace Museum to Taiwan's National Palace Museum in Taipei next fall for an exhibition that will bring together a part of China's imperial collection. The disagreement between the two countries, whether or not China's claim to full ownership of the imperial collection is valid, will not be addressed.

-An interesting article in the Times about the flagging contemporary art market, a short history of the market's relationship to art schools, and an innovative (?) suggestion to open up the now very narrow curriculum in studio-based programs. Should art schools institute a more interdisciplinary approach? Would it change the landscape of the contemporary art market?

-Archaeologists are unearthing a 12th century watermill at Greenwich Wharf in England. Timbers are currently being excavated and sent in for conservation.