PreservationNation

It’s time to start talking about Austin.

Guero's Taco Bar (Photo: Austin CVB)

Maybe it’s because as I write this, I’m hungry, but I’m thinking about food. So I’m going to talk about food – food is what I live for, and in my occupation and the travel that goes along with it, when I’m in a city of great restaurants in cool historic buildings, I feel obligated to check them out, you know, as a loyal employee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In this, most definitely, Austin delivers. Start your list now for October, when the National Preservation Conference descends on Austin, and you’ll be a leading… eater. I’m talking about the Clay Pit for modern Indian food, the romance of French Aquarelle, the mod and edgy Wink, the Italian Carmelos (you will smell the garlic between sessions at the Hilton), and you can’t talk Austin food without mentioning Guero’s Taco Bar on South Congress. I’ll leave an examination of Austin’s Food Trailers for another post.

I love my job.

If I’ve made you hungry for more Austin, check out the new conference website. We’ve been doing a lot of work behind the scenes to make Austin, well, different. We recently did an extensive survey of our audience (current, potential, also those that used to come to the conference regularly, but had not been in a few years), augmented that data with in-depth interviews with leaders in the field, and developed a new format and fresh approach to the conference.

You’ll get an idea of what we’re doing on the conference site, but here is a taste:

• It’s a full day shorter. Official conference programming (other than Field Sessions) starts at 4pm on Wednesday, October 27.
• Thursday and Friday mornings will begin with a point-counterpoint session, playing off the conference theme “Next American City, Next American Landscape,” followed by guided breakout sessions to explore those subjects in greater depth.
• We’re partnering with the organization Next American City on an urban focus area, and they will be sponsoring one of their URBANEXUS Salons during the conference.
• Education sessions will be more interactive and of greater variety, to include discussion sessions, issues sessions, solutions sessions, how-to sessions, success sessions and foundational sessions.

Diners at Guero's (Photo: Austin CVB)

Submission of proposals for Education and Field sessions for the conference is now open through March 1 on the conference page of the website. We are looking for exciting, fresh ideas to build an interactive, exciting conference in Austin. Contact us for information, or just to chat about the new format.

Our audience has never been shy about sharing their opinions, so we hope to hear what you think about our response to the surveys and feedback – and we look forward to receiving your interactive, engaging session submissions by March 1… and maybe some restaurant recommendations too, because a good preservation conference travels on its stomach.

Lori Feinman is the associate director for conferences & training in the Center for Preservation Leadership at the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Written by Priya Chhaya

Historic Preservationists wear many hats. They are advocates, architects, community organizers, accountants, webmasters, managers, conservators, and teachers. In the same vein, preservationists come to the field from a variety of entrances—from main street, grassroots advocacy for a local building, policy work, or just by accident. Increasingly the decision to enter the field has come from academic institutions.

During the last two weeks on Forum-L preservationists (one of the benefits of being a Forum member) have been discussing the purpose of academic training in historic preservation. Prompted by this article, which takes a look at some of the possible changes for the University of Kentucky Historic Preservation Program, members debated the benefits of theoretical versus technical knowledge and the need to affiliate historic preservation programs with allied fields. In particular some members emphasized how the theoretical underpinnings of the field are not enough, that to truly succeed in the field students have to find their own niche and specializations.

I come to this conversation from the standpoint of a public historian, essentially someone who practices history outside of the academy where the primary audience is the public writ large. It is a field that, in my opinion, really examines the same issues that the historic preservationists on Forum-L were discussing, albeit from a slightly different angle.

On one hand we have history MA and PhD programs. These programs train students in research, writing, and the ability to critically pull together historical evidence to prove a hypothesis. The final product of this research comes in the form of books, articles and eventually tenured professorship at another university. Much of this work is, of course, grounded in historical thinking and historiography (the actual craft of writing history) and is, in and of itself, a valid and very important foundation to being a public historian. In order to present history to the public you have to understand where that history comes from, recognize who has written it, why they have written it, and what evidence they used to tell that particular story.

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Written by Justin D. Sanders

The dust is still settling from the National Preservation Conference, and many attendees may still have the distinct sounds of Nashville and its honky-tonks still reverberating in their ears. Aside from the sights and sounds of Music City, this year’s conference saw a wide array of educational sessions, inspiring keynote addresses, and unique field experiences which contributed to what many call one of the best meetings in years. However, it was the networking opportunities at this year’s conference, both planned and impromptu, that I found most beneficial as a Partners in the Field representative.

We field representatives are often referred to as the ones who are working in the trenches in our communities, broadening the base of individuals receiving direct preservation assistance. Being on the front line often requires a “tool bag” of different approaches, strategies, and techniques that can be utilized to address various needs. What is easy to forget in these situations is that more often than not, the needs in our own communities are not vastly different than those occurring in other areas of the nation.

The sessions at this year’s National Preservation Conference allowed field representatives from small and large communities alike to share best practices and discuss the impact of preservation field services on their individual areas. This year’s PiF gatherings were designed as collaboration between newly hired field staff and those of us who have been on the ground since last fall. The meetings allowed for both a refresher for “veteran” Field Representatives and a chance for our new colleagues to hear real world experiences from the field, building a relationship among field staff to candidly discuss the preservation issues affecting our regions.

Covering topics such as reporting practices, utilization of social networking, funding, and effective community outreach, Round 1 Field Representatives shared case studies from their experiences, and provided insight on implementing similar programs throughout the country.

Outside the meeting rooms, PiF representatives were able to expand upon the facilitated discussions and potentially collaborate on future projects. In some instances, field representatives from nearby geographic regions or from the same state are planning to combine their individual resources to create events or programming that will have an even larger impact. These collaborative relationships, fostered by this networking opportunity, are central to the mission of Partners in the Field.

I count myself lucky to be part of such a diverse, energetic, and hard working group of professionals. Our daily experiences may be different, but at the heart of our work are the same challenges and opportunities and the same ultimate goal—expanding and growing the preservation movement to help people save the places that matter.

Justin D. Sanders is the Preservation Field Services Representative at the Heritage Alliance of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.