Minjeong Kim (MJ)

ICLA: International Court of Looted Art

Art ownership disputes are typically resolved through local and national judicial systems. Traditional courts often lack the specific expertise required for understanding the intricacies of the art world and arbitrariness of the art market, leading to misunderstandings or overlooked details in the resolution process. Furthermore, the limited jurisdictional scope of national courts poses challenges in effectively addressing cross-border disputes, which require a more flexible and globally accessible dispute resolution mechanism.    

ICLA is an international organ for collaboration and arbitration on disputes of art ownership. It is a no man’s land, destined to protect the world’s heritage caught in a legal and diplomatic battle. Once a claim is submitted, the art object(s) in question is recalled to ICLA. The art object is conserved, screened, documented, restored, and investigated by experts to collect data to serve the litigation process. Visitors are able to see the object in display, and observe legal proceedings. Once the dispute is settled, the work of art will travel to its rightful owner(s).    

ICLA is an expression of the Art World’s opposing natures: its polished, well-meaning public face and hidden economies that sustain it. The shadowy networks fueled by opaque transactions, undisclosed sales, and discreet exchanges of power supply the Art World’s flow of money and prestige. The road to ownership justice straddles both spheres. True reform relies on bridging this divide, holding institutions, nations, and networks accountable by illuminating ways of displacement and exploitation that lead to loss of culture, and subsequently avenues for redress. It had to become a spatial allegory of extractive empires, at the same time a space of transparency and justice.  

The project is focused on developing an overall spatial strategy in RDM Oost and the new building in the existing ensemble: the Depot. The Depot does not erase history; instead, it builds upon it. The fragmented façade, composed of steel and glass, recalls the tectonic nature of industrial production, while its crystalline, upward-reaching form asserts its own identity as a new vertical landmark in Rotterdam. The Depot is a culmination of all flows into the ICLA, and a new hybrid building of the Art World, Logistics, and International Law, shattering expectations of what a courthouse, or a storage building should be. It is an encapsulation of a world within a world. Security and protection cannot be compromised, and so the Depot was drawn from spatial logic of archetypes of defense. A colossal concrete core supports the open, transparent spaces of workspaces and Evidentiary Halls, while forbidding and allowing access to chosen spaces and protecting works of art with thick, blast proof walls. 

This project is a reflection of my own discoveries and opinion about the Art World, and an emblem of what I believe is needed to reinforce effective and fair processes of cultural restitution worldwide.  


Graduation date: 28 August 2025  
Graduation committee: Ricky Rijkenberg (mentor), Theo Deutinger, Maurizio Scarciglia  
Additional members for the exam: Jarrik Ouburg, Dana Behrman