Docomomo International is pleased to share that the third Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy annual conference online will be held in a hybrid in-person and online format between 1th and 17th October 2021. The theme of this year’s conference is “Interpreting Wright”.

“The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy announces the start of registration to participate online in its annual conference. This will be the Conservancy’s third Buffalo, New York, conference, and the first there in over a decade. Education sessions will explore how Wright is interpreted for public audiences, with a special emphasis on visitor centers and public education programs as integral aspects of historic preservation. Tours will situate Wright’s notable works in Western New York within the rich architectural heritage of the region.

After more than a year of virtual events, Conservancy members are excited to gather safely in person – while also committed to offering an accessible and substantive online option. All morning education sessions, as well as the gala with Wright Spirit Awards ceremony, will be livestreamed, enabling in-person and online attendees to participate together. In the afternoons, while buses ferry in-person participants to tours, online registrants will enjoy professionally-produced video explorations of key sites coupled with interactive discussions with experts. All education sessions and tour videos will be available to all registrants to stream for a month after the event, allowing both in-person and online attendees to watch (or re-watch) at their convenience.

Highlights of the online experience include:

• Education sessions that explore how Wright is interpreted for public audiences, with a special emphasis on visitor centers and public education programs as integral aspects of historic preservation.
• Keynote by Toshiko Mori, acclaimed architect of the Greatbatch Pavilion at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House.
• Professionally-produced video tours coupled with interactive Q&A exploring Wright’s most notable Prairie-period works in Western New York, including the Martin House estate (1903-05), Graycliff (the Isabelle Martin House, 1926), and the Boynton House (1908).
• Video tours of additional sites of note including Wright’s Davidson House (1908), the Richardson Olmsted Campus (H.H. Richardson, 1870), Kleinhans Music Hall (Eero & Eliel Saarinen, 1940), and the reconstruction of the Wright/Green San Francisco office (1951) at the Hagen History Center.
• A special gala evening celebrating the 2021 Wright Spirit Award honorees (previously announced) and featuring highlights from the Conservancy’s online silent auction (which includes Wright memorabilia, furniture, books, and exclusive experiences).

The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy is a nonprofit organization founded in 1989 to facilitate the preservation and stewardship of the remaining structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright through advocacy, education and technical services. The staff and a corps of dedicated and knowledgeable board members and volunteers accomplish the Conservancy’s mission through strategic initiatives that include advocating against demolition and neglect of Wright structures, providing access to expert technical conservation and restoration resources, connecting preservation-minded buyers and sellers of Wright properties, advancing original Wright scholarship through SaveWright magazine, and honoring those who demonstrate extraordinary efforts in stewardship of Wright’s legacy through the Wright Spirit Awards.

The full schedule, registration, and the latest details are available online at the conference website.
The press release can be read here: PDF
Preview video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ-_NVjr-oI