Some of the student participants in Watch Day in Shikarpoor, Pakistan.

Communities all over the world have been coming together to celebrate their shared heritage with a series of commemorative and educational events called Watch Day. Supported by World Monuments Fund, Watch Day events highlight the importance of community engagement and local stewardship in sustainable preservation.  

 

In 2014 over 25 sites have organized Watch Day events, ranging from cultural or media events to clean-up days, exhibits, and guided site visits. Several more have events scheduled in 2015. In Romania, the Great Synagogue of Iasi celebrated Jewish religion and tradition with guided tours, music concerts, and arts and crafts activities for schoolchildren. At the Wooden Churches of Northern Oltenia and Southern Transylvania, the community of Ursi visited the village church, which is being restored, and an exhibition about the ongoing project. Over 3,000 people participated in a day-long series of events at the Fundidora Park Watch Day. At Shikarpoor Historic City Center, Watch Day sparked a renewed sense of pride and hope among residents and local heritage supporters. In Puerto Rico, a Watch Day exhibit featured works created by local artists who were inspired by the Henry Klumb House. Tenyuji Temple in Japan, a site damaged in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, held a workshop about the traditional assembly of blocks for eave brackets, a panel exhibition on the recovery of heritage after disaster, and a site tour. At another site affected by the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the town of Kesennuma, the community participated in a hands-on plastering workshop. At Sulgrave Manor, the Northamptonshire home of George Washington's ancestors, Watch Day consisted of an Independence Day celebration.  

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WHSAD students work with an instructor in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn.

WMF and Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design (WHSAD) will host an informational reception on February 12 to invite preservation professionals in NYC to host a high school summer intern.

WHSAD is a certified Career and Technical Education (CTE) high school in Brooklyn. Its unique four-year historic preservation curriculum provides opportunities for students to build a foundation of knowledge, skills, and literacy for creative problem-solving in the architecture, design, and construction industries. Over 50% of the school's students enroll in college immediately after graduation, and 80% graduate with a CTE endorsement on their diploma in architecture/AutoCAD. Each summer, students have an opportunity to participate in work-based learning internships supported by the New York City Department of Education. Interns have been hosted at historic house museums, Green-Wood Cemetery, architecture and engineering firms, Park Avenue Armory, Brooklyn Borough Hall, World Monuments Fund, and many other organizations, including a 100-year old stonework company. To hear the students talk about their internship experiences, watch our video.  

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Ricardo Porro, center, with the two other architects of the National Art Schools, Roberto Gottardi, left, and Vittorio Garatti, right.

World Monuments Fund mourns the death of Ricardo Porro, an architect and artist of limitless talent, passion, and dedication. His visionary work on the National Schools of Modern Dance and Plastic Arts in Havana, Cuba, is a fitting legacy to his contributions to the field.

 

Porro's death came eight days after the announcement by leaders in the U.S. and Cuba that the two countries have reestablished diplomatic relations and are in the process of loosening longstanding travel and economic policies. The new circustances will allow us to collaborate with Cuban colleagues more effectively. 

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