National Trust for Historic Preservation Launches Modernism + Recent Past Initiative PR Notice
I don’t want to be a lackey and just pass on information in this space but this was a good one so without further ado, a straight cut and paste.
National Trust for Historic Preservation Launches Modernism + Recent Past Initiative
Initiative Will Partner with National and Local Organizations to Save Significant 20th Century Resources
The National Trust for Historic Preservation (www.PreservationNation.org) is a non-profit membership organization bringing people together to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them. By saving the places where great moments from history – and the important moments of everyday life – took place, the National Trust for Historic Preservation helps revitalize neighborhoods and communities, spark economic development and promote environmental sustainability. With headquarters in Washington, DC, nine regional and field offices, 29 historic sites, and partner organizations in all 50 states, the National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education, advocacy and resources to a national network of people, organizations and local communities committed to saving places, connecting us to our history and collectively shaping the future of America’s stories.
Washington, DC (April 15, 2009) – The National Trust for Historic Preservation today announced the launch of its Modernism + Recent Past Initiative with the hiring of Christine Madrid French as the director of the program. The Modernism + Recent Past Initiative, housed in the Western Office in San Francisco under the guidance of regional director Dr. Anthea Hartig, focuses on significant buildings, structures, and landscapes of the modern movement, as well as places of social, economic, and cultural importance that were built within the last fifty years. Primary funding for the Initiative was generously provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.
With this initiative, the National Trust for Historic Preservation plans to elevate public appreciation for both modern and recent past resources and demonstrate the significance of these buildings in the history of American architecture and culture. ”The National Trust is fully committed to preserving modern heritage,” said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, “and this initiative will foster the partnerships necessary to build awareness and support for modernist resources.” Development pressures, the vagaries of the economy, and aging infrastructure put thousands of homes, office buildings, schools, libraries, and airports in jeopardy. Although the historic significance of these places may not be commonly recognized, many clearly contribute to community life and have enduring worth. And while all of these resources may not merit full protection, none should be destroyed without careful review.
“Under this program, we hope to broaden the national conversation on historic preservation of twentieth-century resources and articulate to a wider audience practical approaches to saving modernist and recent past buildings,” said French.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation brings broad organizational capacity, deep technical resources, extensive public policy expertise, and a broad national perspective to this issue. As the owner of the Philip Johnson Glass House and Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, the National Trust for Historic Preservation already serves as a major curator of Modern masterpieces. As a part of the Initiative, Philip Johnson Glass House, under executive director Christy MacLear, will act as a center for modernism providing leadership for the preservation of modernist architecture and landscapes. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has also issued numerous publications focused on the study and preservation of the recent past and frequently covers the subject in the print and online versions of Preservation Magazine.
The Initiative’s goals include:
- Engage national and local partner organizations to build consensus and create a shared policy agenda for modernist and recent past resources; establish a strong national network to strengthen partners’ work.
- Provide high-quality educational programming, technical resources, and research for local organizations working to save, maintain, and reuse modernist and recent past resources.
- Advance policies that support Twentieth-Century architectural and cultural heritage in collaboration with national, regional, and local partners; integrate efforts with the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Sustainability Initiative to ensure that older and historic structures, including modernist and recent past resources, positively contribute to sustainable development plans at all levels of government.
- Engage individuals and targeted audiences across the country in modernism and recent past issues.
- Create and implement a comprehensive communications strategy that raises public awareness and galvanizes support for M+RP.
About Christine Madrid French:
Trained as an architectural historian at the University of Utah and the University of Virginia, French is a co-founder and past president of the Recent Past Preservation Network, the first national non-profit organization dedicated to saving resources built during the last fifty years. French is a member of the 20th Century Heritage Scientific Committee for the International Council of Monuments and Sites, and previously worked as an historian with the National Park Service in Washington, D.C. She has contributed to numerous architectural books and magazines and consulted on modern visitor centers for Ken Burns’ upcoming documentary about the National Park system.
The Henry Luce Foundation (http://www.hluce.org/) was established in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time Inc., to honor his parents who were missionary educators in China. The Foundation builds upon the vision and values of four generations of the Luce family: broadening knowledge and encouraging the highest standards of service and leadership; and, operating as a not-for-profit corporation under the laws of the State of New York, aims to exemplify the best practices of responsible, effective philanthropy. The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to bring important ideas to the center of American life, strengthen international understanding, and foster innovation and leadership in academic, policy, religious and art communities.
And I’m going to contact them to find out what I can do and we as a Dallas Community of Modern Home appreciation can do to support this effort. I like that this is where preservation meets modernism and we do something that helps educate and extend appreciation around homes that need it.
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