CHN is Proud to Support Smithsonian Institution’s ‘Stemming the Tide’ Symposium
Cultural heritage is both impacted by climate change and an important part of strategies for driving climate action. So, where does the cultural heritage community stand now in terms of engaging on climate change, where do we want to go and how do we get there? The USA’s Smithsonian Institution is putting the focus squarely on these urgent questions at a two-day symposium entitled ‘Stemming the Tide: Global Strategies for Sustaining Cultural Heritage Through Climate Change.’ The event will be held 5-6 March in Washington, DC.
Climate Heritage Network (CHN) members are proud to support this important program, which is being hosted by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Smithsonian’s National Collections Program. The event is co-sponsored by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the International Institute for Conservation (IIC) and the American Institute for Conservation (AIC), all CHN founding members.
Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch will provide the opening address with a keynote speech from Kenneth Kimmell, President of the Union of Concerned Scientists, also a CHN founding member. Closing remarks will be provided by ICOMOS’s Andrew Potts, who is the coordinator of the Climate Heritage Network Secretariat, which ICOMOS hosts.
The conference will explore the intersection of climate change and each of six different categories of cultural heritage: Intangible Cultural Heritage, Archaeological Sites, Built Heritage, Cultural Communities, Cultural and Historic Urban Landscapes, and Museums and Collections.
During the opening day of the Symposium, a different speaker will address each these six categories. We’re proud that four of the speakers represent CHN Steering Committee member institutions. The US National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Ashley Robbins Wilson will speak on Cultural Landscapes and Historic Urban Landscapes, and Carl Elefante, Immediate Past President of the American Institute of Architects will speak on built heritage and climate change. Janene Yazzie of the International Indian Treaty Council will be addressing intangible heritage, while Isabel Rivera-Collazo of the University of California at San Diego, will speak to archaeology and climate change.
This format will culminate in six breakout sessions, each held at a different Smithsonian museum or research centres in Washington, where representatives of several CHN member organisations will serve as moderators.:
Sarah Sutton, Principle at Sustainable Museums, for Intangible Cultural Heritage and Climate Change, at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage;
Meredith Wiggins, on leave from CHN member Historic England, for Cultural Communities and Climate Change, at the National Museum of the American Indian;
Henry McGhie from Curating Tomorrow for Museums and Collections and Climate Change, at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
The week’s activities will conclude with a public program on the evening of 6 March as part of the IIC’s “Point of the Matter Dialogue.” The dialogue, entitled “Heritage at Risk: A Dialogue on the Effects of Climate Change,” will be moderated by IIC President Julian Bickersteth of Australia. Participants will include CHN Co-Chair Juliane Polanco, California State Historic Preservation Officer; Anthea Hartig, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and a CHN Steering Committee member, as well as Potts, Sutton and others.
In the midst of a climate emergency, we can’t afford silence. Mobilising arts, culture and heritage for climate action starts with cultural institutions putting the climate change issue front and centre. The Smithsonian Institution’s ‘Stemming the Tide’ goes there. It commits to exploring the impact of climate change on cultural heritage and communities worldwide, discussing the responsibilities of stewards of cultural heritage in fostering collaborative solutions, to addressing urgent questions of equity and inclusion, and identifying strategies that leverage cultural heritage for climate action. It’s what the world needs now, and the Climate Heritage Network is here for it.
