Tell us about your organization:

World Monuments Fund (WMF) is the leading independent organization devoted to safeguarding the world’s most treasured places to enrich people’s lives and build mutual understanding across cultures and communities. The organization is headquartered in New York City with offices and affiliates in Cambodia, India, France, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and the UK. Since 1965, their global team of experts has preserved the world's diverse cultural heritage using the highest international standards at more than 700 sites in 112 countries. Partnering with local communities, funders, and governments, WMF draws on heritage to address some of today’s most pressing challenges: climate adaptation, inclusive heritage, balanced tourism, and post-crisis recovery. With a commitment to the people who bring places to life, WMF embraces the potential of the past to create a more resilient and inclusive society.

Highlight one recent initiative, program, or exhibition: 

World Monuments Fund and Magnum Foundation will debut a curated selection of new photography at this year’s Paris Photo Fair, held in the French capital from November 7–10, 2024. Titled Heritage in Focus, this presentation is part of a joint initiative from World Monuments Fund and Magnum Foundation that offers emerging photographers the opportunity to tell the stories of historic places and their stewards at 11 cultural heritage sites. These 11 sites were included on the 2022 World Monuments Watch, our biennial, nomination-based program connecting local heritage preservation efforts to global awareness and action.

Photographers were given creative freedom to capture the relationship between people and place at cultural heritage sites ranging from the Asante shrines in Ghana to Teotihuacan in Mexico. Kristen Lubben, Executive Director of the Magnum Foundation and former International Center of Photography curator, will curate the Paris Photo exhibition of select Heritage in Focus works.

In addition to the exhibition, we are publishing a Heritage in Focus catalogue featuring all 11 projects from this collaboration. Edited by Elizabeth Krist, former photo editor of National Geographic and founding member of the VisualThinking Collective, this Skira publication will be available in October in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, and Switzerland.

Online audiences will also be able to digitally explore photographs from each project in a series of online Google Arts & Culture exhibits curated by the photographers.

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What is something about your organization that most people don’t know? 

World Monuments Fund has worked on projects on all seven continents, including Antarctica! We are proud to be one of the only organizations working at this scale in the heritage sector, and our projects take a wide variety of shapes and forms. We’ve conserved historic structures at iconic places from Angkor Archaeological Park in Cambodia to the Forbidden City in China.

In addition to physical conservation, we also lead training programs to help local communities better benefit from the economic opportunities related to cultural tourism; spearhead crisis response projects following natural disasters and armed conflict; and develop climate adaptation and mitigation strategies.

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How does your organization’s mission intersect with Archtober’s mission? 

Like Archtober, WMF is passionate about architecture and design. We believe in the power of place to bring people together and in the importance of safeguarding built heritage around the globe.

We believe that taking care of the places that are architecturally, historically, and socially significant to humanity presents opportunities to tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing us today. Preserving a historic garden can teach us to be more climate resilient; in a city recovering from conflict, restoring a major cultural hub can help its community feel safe to come together to rebuild; supporting traditional craftsmanship can create new models for economic sustainability.

None of the work we do would be possible without partners, from local communities to governments and sponsors—including Archtober. We work hand in hand to achieve our collective goal of celebrating the world’s cultural heritage and protecting it for generations to come.

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What was the biggest change that your institution has witnessed in recent years? 

We’ve seen the field of heritage preservation evolve significantly over the past several years, and our work has grown with it. One significant evolution has been the increased focus on climate change, which is one of the fastest growing threats to heritage sites across the world. From frequent wildfires and coastal erosion to changes in heat and humidity, WMF is working to develop strategies to mitigate the impact of severe weather on the built environment and adaptpractices to ensure the preservation of heritage in the long term. Through our new Climate Heritage Initiative, cultural heritage can also contribute to the climate resiliency of local communities, and it is our responsibility as conservators to leverage that potential. We will be featuring some of that work at WMF’s upcoming World Monuments Summit on October 26 in New York City.

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What is a design object, building, or site that you would like to highlight as part of your organization? 

One of the many incredible places where we are currently working is the Mosul Cultural Museum (MCM) in Iraq. The MCM was designed by the acclaimed Iraqi architect Mohamed Makiya and is an important example of Iraqi modernist architecture. The building and its collections were significantly damaged in 2015 by members of Daesh during their occupation of Mosul. Since 2021, WMF has been working with a consortium of international and local partners, including the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH), the international alliance for the protection of heritage in conflict areas (ALIPH), the Musée du Louvre, and the Smithsonian Institution to rehabilitate the whole museum and collections.

A new phase of restoration work at the museum was announced in May 2023. We look forward to bringing the space back to life, to life and return it to its rightful place as a cultural landmark for the region, hand in hand with our partners.

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