Artists are leading a broad rethinking of heritage, and claiming a central role within preservation practice. In recent years, many BIPOC artists have worked with built heritage to take up the legacies of racial inequities and historical injustices as central themes in their work. Artists confront, challenge, or reframe the role of heritage in society. What will the future of preservation look like as art becomes more central in the profession?

This symposium convenes BIPOC artists who integrate heritage – and all its sociopolitical implications today – into their works and explores the intersection between art and preservation.

The event is co-sponsored by the Historic Preservation Program at Columbia GSAPP and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Image Credit: Still from Ada Pinkston’s LandMarked, courtesy of the artist.

Introduction
12:00–12:15PM

Remarks by Jorge Otero-Pailos, Director of the Historic Preservation Program at GSAPP, and Katherine Malone-France, Chief Preservation Officer at the National Trust for Historic Preservation


Reclaiming
12:15–1:45PM

Presentations by Karyn Olivier, Monet Noelle Marshall, and Ada Pinkston

Introduction by Katherine Malone-France
Moderated by Brent Leggs


Materializing
2:00–3:30PM

Presentations by Paul Rucker, Nona Faustine, and David Hartt

Introduction by Anna Gasha
Moderated by Justin Garrett Moore


CONNECTING
3:45–5:15PM

Presentations by Joel Garcia, Ifa Bayeza, and Jenenne Whitfield

Introduction by Cole Akers
Moderated by Marissa Brown

James Marston Fitch, an architect and preservationist, founded the Historic Preservation Program at Columbia University in 1964 and was member of the faculty from 1954 to 1977. Jane Jacobs considered Fitch “the principal character in making the preservation of historic buildings practical and feasible and popular.” The James Marston Fitch Colloquium became an annual event at Columbia GSAPP in 2000.

The Columbia GSAPP Historic Preservation Program focuses on creating new roles for architectural and cultural heritage to promote inclusive and resilient communities through the design of technological and aesthetic adaptations, planning and policy innovations, and social and historical research. For 70 years, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has led the movement to save America’s historic places. A privately funded nonprofit organization, they work to save America’s historic sites; tell the full American story; build stronger communities; and invest in preservation’s future.