The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County will host its seventh annual Preservation Symposium on Saturday, November 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at The Moore-Morris History & Culture Center. The day-long symposium will be broken into three sessions, with nationally known preservation experts leading discussions throughout the day. Tickets range from $15 – 35 and are available now on the Heritage Foundation’s website.
“Our annual Preservation Symposium brings to Middle Tennessee national thought leaders in historic preservation and public history,” said Anna Marcum, Senior Director of Preservation for The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County. “Each year we host this unique gathering to discuss radical, cutting-edge approaches to historic preservation to reinvigorate our community’s commitment to preservation. This year’s theme is Common Ground and each of the sessions delves into innovative reparative practices preservationists, historians, and the general public can use to welcome new audiences to the preservation coalition.”
The Heritage Foundation began this symposium as a way to highlight preservation within the community, which ties into its Preserve Williamson initiative, and welcome those who are interested in learning more about the past, but also what can be worked towards in the future. The day is broken into three sessions with multiple presentations, details are included below:
Bonnie Seymour, the Registrar and Assistant Curator of the Parthenon in Nashville, TN, will discuss the process of repatriating West Mexican artifacts and its impact on communities and museum policies. She and José Gazpar Vera González, Mexican Visual Artist and Day of the Dead Ambassador, will share the positive effects of repatriation on contemporary art and building stronger institutional relationships.
Angela Sutton, professor at Vanderbilt University, Director of the Builders and Defenders Database, and Director of the Fort Negley Descendants Project, will discuss the importance of centering the experiences and desires of descendants in research projects about their ancestors. She and descendants of Fort Negley soldiers will discuss the benefits of descendant led work and strategies for collaboration between history professionals and descendants of underrepresented communities.
Sarah Marsom, Heritage Resource Consultant and advocate for positive change in the cultural resource field, will explore ways to open the field of historic preservation to new audiences through craft and community engagement. She will also challenge traditional approaches to evaluating historic significance.
Ticket details are as follows: $15 for students and teachers, $25 for Heritage Foundation Members, and $35 for non-members. All attendees will receive a light breakfast and catered boxed lunches.
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