World Monuments Fund

This week, a panel of world-class experts will convene to select which of the over 200 #heritage site nominations will make the 2025 World Monuments Watch. Throughout its 30 years, the Watch has evolved into an #advocacy program collaborating with nominators and local communities who want to take action to preserve their sites. This year’s panel of experts includes: Lynn Meskell of the University of Pennsylvania, Albino Jopela of the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) - Official, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailovic of Europa Nostra, Nelly Robles García of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), Pasang Dolma Sherpa of the Center of Indigenous Peoples’ Research & Development (CIPRED), Brinda Somaya of Somaya and Kalappa Consultants (SNK), and Lyu Zhou of the National Heritage Center at Tsinghua University.   Data from submitted nominations identifies six major challenges threatening #culturalheritage sites around the world. Read more about the panelists and our findings on the top six threats to #culturalheritage:

Since 2023, World Monuments Fund has prioritized the protection of Ukraine's #culturalheritage during and after the war through our Ukraine Heritage Response Fund. This Fund supports immediate action to protect #Ukraine's irreplaceable treasures from further damage and prepares for post-crisis recovery #conservation. In the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ new Google Arts and Culture story, explore our work on the ground, including repairing the glass dome of the Teacher’s House in #Kyiv: https://lnkd.in/eU9_PgsX   The Ukraine Heritage Response Fund was created with leadership support from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation. World Monuments Fund would also like to thank the other generous donors who have supported the Fund, including the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) and U.S. Embassy Kyiv; Cultural Emergency Response (CER) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands; Richard Lounsbery Foundation; Tianaderrah Foundation / Nellie and Robert Gipson; Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Kaye Foundation; Flora Family Foundation; Christie's; and other supporters. #worldheritage #preservation #ukraine 

📚Grab your backpacks, we’re heading #backtoschool! Class is in session at this trio of World Monuments Fund/ Knoll Modernism Prize recipients. With innovative #modernist design, France's Karl Marx School, Japan’s Hizuchi Elementary School, and Germany’s ADGB Trade Union School are top of class.    Awarded biennially, the World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism prize celebrates modernist preservation success stories and recognizes the architects, designers, and preservationists whose work enhances public awareness of the seminal role that modernism plays in the built environment.      Swipe to explore the modernist #educational sites:     1-2 – Described as “the most beautiful school in France,” Villejuif’s Karl Marx School was designed by architect André Lurçat and opened in 1933    3 – Hizuchi Elementary School, located in Yawatahama City, Japan, is an example of post-war modernist architecture. This functionalist, wood-framed school was designed by Masatsune Matsumura     4 – The complex of the ADGB Trade Union School, designed by Hannes Meyer and Hans Wittwer from 1928 to 1930, also represents a functionalist view of architecture. The #Bauhaus structure was built to provide further education for trade union members    Read more: https://lnkd.in/dVdanNw The World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize has been made possible, in part, by support from Knoll.

📚Grab your backpacks, we’re heading #backtoschool! Class is in session at this trio of World Monuments Fund/ Knoll Modernism Prize recipients. With innovative #modernist design, France's Karl Marx School, Japan’s Hizuchi Elementary School, and Germany’s ADGB Trade Union School are top of class.    Awarded biennially, the World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism prize celebrates modernist preservation success stories and recognizes the architects, designers, and preservationists whose work enhances public awareness of the seminal role that modernism plays in the built environment.      Swipe to explore the modernist #educational sites:     1-2 – Described as “the most beautiful school in France,” Villejuif’s Karl Marx School was designed by architect André Lurçat and opened in 1933    3 – Hizuchi Elementary School, located in Yawatahama City, Japan, is an example of post-war modernist architecture. This functionalist, wood-framed school was designed by Masatsune Matsumura     4 – The complex of the ADGB Trade Union School, designed by Hannes Meyer and Hans Wittwer from 1928 to 1930, also represents a functionalist view of architecture. The #Bauhaus structure was built to provide further education for trade union members    Read more: https://lnkd.in/dVdanNw The World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize has been made possible, in part, by support from Knoll.

Congratulations to WMF trustee Kwame Anthony Appiah for winning the Library of Congress' Kluge Humanities Prize! Read more about the New York University #philosopher and ethicist via The New York Times:

Join us at the Victoria and Albert Museum in #London next Wednesday, September 11th for the UK premiere of ‘is this an architectural documentary?’ This film, commissioned by Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka, explores the work of Sri Lankan modernist #architect Minnette De Silva, and will be followed by a Q&A. This free event will take place from 3-5 pm - RSVP information below!

📑 Field report from #RapaNui 🗿🏝️ WMF is on the ground documenting our #conservation, #preservation, and interpretation work across the #SouthPacific island. We are proud to have worked on Rapa Nui, also known as #EasterIsland, since the late 1960s. Explore behind-the-scenes footage:   1 – WMF staff surveying sites on Rapa Nui’s northwest coast. 2-3 – CyArk collecting drone and 3D documentation of the ceremonial village of Orongo, which has featured on the World Monuments Watch three times. 4 – Tahai archaeological complex, where WMF supported #archaeologist William Mulloy’s reconstruction Rapa Nui’s iconic #moai statues and ahu (platforms) in the 1970s. 5 – Filming at Rano Raraku, the quarry where the moai were created and where WMF supported the installation of visitor management services. 6 – Double rainbows along Rapa Nui’s northwest coast. World Monuments Fund’s work at Rapa Nui has been made possible, in part, by support from The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust, American Express, and The Selz Foundation. #Polynesia #CulturalHeritage #WorldHeritage  

#OTD #HurricaneKatrina hit the #GulfCoast and became the costliest #naturaldisaster in U.S. history, devastating #NewOrleans and delta region. The Mississippi Gulf Coast contains some of the most unique built heritage in the southern United States. As a part of our #crisisresponse work, WMF supported #disasterrelief efforts across the region, including immediate structural assessments and stabilization measures to help preserve structures for generations to come. Read more about our work across the Gulf Coast: https://lnkd.in/eWf2NCjR  

📢 Just Announced! World Monuments Fund will honor Peter Marino Architect and Dr. Marilyn Perry at this year's Hadrian Gala, hosted at The New York Public Library on October 28th 📢 Read more with WWD:

“While the [TikTok] trend has temporarily boosted online interest in Angkor, it’s essential to promote safe access, educational visitation and respect for local religious, spiritual and social significance of the sites,” Ginevra Boatto, our Cambodia country director, tells Bloomberg News. 📰 Read more about #sustainabletourism at #culturalheritage sites: