Looking back on all 11! conferences I attended in 2019, I was amazed to see what sessions stuck with me. Some of these sessions were practical and some were inspirational. Check out my top five below and click here to view my top five from 2018!
Photo Credit: Caitlin Meives
Preserving Tangible and Intangible Heritage; Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass as a Case Study
Where: Preservation New York State Conference
Who: Michelle Furlano, Hinda Mandell, Shawn Dunwoody, Autumn Haag, Juilee Decker
Why: What do you do when a building is gone and all that is left is a parking lot? One option is to engage creatives and try temporary interventions to determine permanent solutions. The out of the box thinking showcased in this session left me inspired and excited for the future of preservation. Click this link to view an activation of the Douglass home site I participated in this year.
Dodge City is known for its cowboys, which made for a lively conference location.
Garlinghouse: A Thematic Study
Where: Kansas Historic Preservation Conference
Who: Emily Lenhausen
Why: As the need to preserve 20th century buildings increases, it is important to know best strategies to survey and research these assets. Garlinghouse: A Thematic Study showcased the work of Emily Lenhausen (part of the Rosin Preservation team) to research, survey, and document homes that were built from Garlinghouse plans. Emily delved into everything from how the team identified character defining features to how the work led to a community effort to remove aluminum siding from a Garlinghouse! A very practical session that showcased an interesting piece of history.
Creating Inclusive Makerspaces, Bathroom Wars and Peeing in Peace: Proposed Best Practices for Gender-free Restrooms in Libraries, Stop the Thumb Scroll: Creating Inclusive and Accessible Social Media Content
Where: IDEAL ’19: Advancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessbility in Libraries & Archives
Who: Sarah Nagle, Selene Colburn, Shelly Black
Why: Okay…this is kind of cheating my top 5, but with each of these presentations only being 15-minutes and paired in the same time block, I think this is an okay loophole. Every single presentation provided practical strategies to make your organization more inclusive. I learned how to test graphics to ensure they could be read by an individual who is color blind, how building codes can make creating gender-free restrooms difficult, and steps to making sure makers spaces are not just for people wanting to learn new technology. IDEAL ‘19 was my favorite conference in 2019, and these sessions are a small showcase of the practical strategies presented at this event.
Colorful row houses seen in Philadelphia during the fall Rust Belt Takeover.
The Joy of Color in Historic Places
Where: Congress for New Urbanism, CNU 27. Louisville
Who: John Gilderbloom
Why: Preservationists are eternal optimists, they see an old building that is falling apart and can envision a new life for it. Not everyone can see the possibilities so easily and this session was a great reminder of the impact paint can have! John’s presentation not only highlighted how a fresh coat of paint can increase chances of a fixer-upper being sold, it also show value comparisons between grey/black homes and colorful homes. Spoiler: colorful homes have a higher valuation! Click here to see John’s latest book on the topic, Chromatic Homes.
One of the pieces created by a student at my middle school workshop for the Create Columbus Arts Council.
Harnessing the Power of Primary Sources for your Historic Site with the Next Generation of Preservationists
Where: Saving Places Conference , Colorado’s statewide historic preservation conference
Who: Michelle Pearson, Keith Patterson, Dr.Peggy O’Neill-Jones, Kile Clabaugh, Cynthia Stout
Why: Do you want to engage K-12 audiences? Do you love the Library of Congress’ resources? Are you looking for funding to incorporate your site’s history to school curriculum? All of these topics were covered in this session and I highly recommend if you answered “yes” to those questions that you click this link and contact your region’s office for the Teaching with Primary Sources grant today.