Welcome to our July 2015 Newsletter! This month, you'll see that we are honoring two inspirational women at our gala in October; have started an amazing training program at a historic cemetery in the Bronx; and launched a new program in India. Read on for more details.
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October's Hadrian Gala Honorees Announced
WMF will honor Her Majesty Queen Sofía and Her Excellency Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa of Bahrain at the twenty-eighth annual Hadrian Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City on Wednesday, October 21, 2015. Her Majesty Queen Sofía will receive the Hadrian Award in recognition of her generous efforts to promote awareness and understanding of the cultural heritage of Spain and for motivating others to action through her ongoing support and advocacy of Spanish patrimony. Her Excellency Shaikha Mai, the President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, will receive the Watch Award in recognition of the singular role she has played in the preservation and protection of world heritage, particularly traditional Bahraini culture and heritage. We are incredibly honored that these extraordinary women will be a part of our 50th anniversary celebration in October. Click here for tickets to the gala or here for tickets to the After Party.
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Training Program at Historic Cemetery in the Bronx
WMF and Woodlawn Conservancy, Inc., in collaboration with the International Masonry Institute (IMI), have partnered to create a preservation training program at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. This two year pilot program offers job training opportunities in stone masonry and stone conservation to a group of 12 interns from schools in NYC that focus on the preservation trades. Beginning this July, students will work on select monuments at Woodlawn, receiving hands-on technical training needed to succeed in the conservation field, and job placement opportunities for all interns who successfully complete the program. Woodlawn Conservancy and WMF hope that this pilot program will serve as a national model for other historic cemeteries in the United States that often struggle to find the resources and help to preserve their monuments and mausoleums. Read more
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Program Launched at House of Shaikh Salim Chishti
Shaikh Salim Chishti (1478-1572) is one of the most revered Sufi saints of the Mughal period in India, and Emperor Akbar-e-Azam Akbar, who ruled the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585, believed the saint's powers were so great that he built an imperial palace complex in his honor. Inclusion on the 2014 World Monuments Watch drew attention to the conservation needs of this historic and spiritual site, which is in close proximity of the World Heritage site of Fatehpur Sikri. WMF, in partnership with the Archaeological Survey of India, launched a program in May 2015 to work together to complete comprehensive research and site clearance, as well as emergency repairs, which will help showcase the cultural values of Fatehpur Sikri and the intrinsic relationship between the history of the site and Sufi culture. Read more
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WMF Celebrates Rome's Treasures
In celebration of our 50th Anniversary, WMF and a group of leadership donors spent 5 magical days in June visiting some of Rome's heritage sites, many of them the focus of WMF's conservation efforts in the Eternal City. The group visited the Villa Medici, where they were treated not only to a tour of the Villa's famed gardens but encountered the Medici Lions, striking sculpture adorning the courtyard façade (pictured above). They were of special interest to WMF visitors, as the Medici Lions are the inspiration for the lions that greet students and instructors every day at Stowe School in England, a past WMF project. On subsequent days the group visited a sequence of sites that note the great influence of the Farnese family in Rome, from the remains of the family's summer retreat atop the Palatine to a culminating event at the Farnese Palace, today the French Embassy in Rome, which featured a tour of the Carracci Gallery, a concert by Les Arts Florissants, and a gala dinner. Read more
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Stephan Kelley, WMF Conservation Specialist, has been busy! During his recent trip to Shwe-nandaw Kyaung monastery in Myanmar, he wrote to us about his experience working with Burmese carpenters and the preferred style of dress at the site. Then, he was off to Turkey, and wrote about his visits to Ani and Mren Cathedral.
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CNN's Ben Wedeman speaks with WMF's Jeff Allen and others who are trying to preserve what's left of the ancient city of Babylon for future generations.
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El Pais interviewed WMF President Bonnie Burnham about the destruction of cultural heritage.
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