The Evolving Landscape of Art Insurance: Digital Works, Legal Frameworks and Sustainability
When: Wednesday, June 25, 2025, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Where: Lecture Theatre, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London, 67-69 Lincolns Inn Fields, London WC2A 3JB
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Visiting Scholar Lectures in Art, Business and Law
This event will explore the evolving field of art insurance, beginning with traditional models and expanding into the challenges and opportunities posed by digital art. We will examine how NFTs are currently classified under legal and regulatory frameworks, the role of new technologies in authentication and provenance, and how insurers are adapting their practices in response. The talk will also reflect on sustainability: environmentally, given the energy demands of blockchain systems; and socially, in terms of accessibility and the potential for greater inclusion in the art market.
Federica Gattillo
Federica Gattillo is an Italian-qualified lawyer and PhD candidate in Comparative Private Law at the University of Milan, with a specialisation in art law. Her research focuses on key legal challenges in the art market, including the authenticity of artworks and buyer protection, insurance frameworks in the art market, copyright in contemporary art forms (such as appropriation art, street art, digital art, and conceptual or unrealised works), the intersection of sustainability and the digital art world, and more recently, the legal implications of using animals in artistic expression. Federica has published on these topics, contributing articles and book chapters to collective academic volumes. She regularly lectures and delivers seminars at the University of Milan and in postgraduate programmes, covering subjects such as art contracts, appropriation art, and comparative private law.
Federica has presented her research at international conferences organised by institutions including Université Paris-Saclay, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, and the University of Rome Tor Vergata, as well as in professional training contexts such as the Milan Bar Association. Since May 2023, she is a Lecturer in Law, Legislation, and Economics of Art at the Aldo Galli Academy of Fine Arts – IED Network. As our current Art Business and Law Visiting Researcher in Residence, Federica will share insights from her research and engage attendees in an open discussion.
Event Details
Date: Wednesday 25 June 2025
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 pm (BST)
Venue: Lecture Theatre, Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS), Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, UK
The event is free to attend. Please register via Eventbrite to confirm your attendance.
Event Schedule
5.45 – 6:00 pm: Registration
6:00 – 6.10 pm: Welcome from Professor Debbie De Girolamo, CCLS Director, Art Business and Law
6.10 – 6.40 pm: Presentation by Federica Gattillo
6.40 – 7.00 pm: Audience Discussion
7.00 – 7.30 pm: Informal Networking
Organiser of Visiting Scholar Lectures in Art, Business & Law
The LLM in Art, Business and Law, offered by CCLS, QMUL in partnership with the Institute of Art and Law (IAL) is a unique and challenging programme focusing on the legal area of art, business and law, both in terms of teaching and research.
The programme draws upon the expertise of CCLS academics and directs the focus of this expertise towards the legal aspects of doing business in the art world. CCLS teams up with IAL instructors (who are practitioners in this field) to offer an exciting and innovative approach to learning.
CCLS is a dedicated postgraduate centre offering LLM, MSc, Diploma
and Certificate programmes in the various aspects of commercial law. In
its research and teaching, the Centre focuses strongly on the global development of international commercial law. The Centre is international in composition and outlook. It is able to draw on the input of distinguished resident and visiting scholars from overseas and to engage in comparative examination of the legal systems of other countries. This gives our students an exceptionally rich study environment.
The Institute of Art and Law is an educational organisation giving knowledge
and perspective on the law relating to cultural heritage, a concept which includes art, antiquities, archives, archaeology, architecture, monuments, treasure and more. IAL's educational remit is fulfilled through publishing and educational courses. It also publishes commentaries on all aspects of the law relating to cultural heritage, in addition to a quarterly periodical, Art Antiquity and Law.