New York, June 16, 2010– John H. Stubbs, Chair of the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation, announced on behalf of the Foundation’s trustees the latest Fitch Mid-Career Grant Awards.  “The Foundation had its largest number of applicants this year, and despite a difficult economy, the Board is delighted to award two Fitch Foundation Mid-Career Grants to three very worthy recipients,” stated Stubbs.

With the support of a Fitch Foundation Mid-Career grant, Ned Kauffman will be traveling to Dublin, Ireland for ICOMOS meetings on international practices of conserving intangible heritage.  Ned Kaufman will lead working groups at the conference and plans to gather information on best practices in this relatively new facet of heritage protection from around the world. Attending the conference will be a wonderful opportunity to inject U.S. perspectives and experience into the international discussion. His ultimate goal is to develop a ‘best practices’ model and guide for United States practitioners. The Board noted that for the future of historic preservation in the United States, Kaufman’s work on connecting the significance of intangible heritage practices to the built environment was essential and prescient.

Laura Ewen Blokker and Heather A. Knight’s joint proposal, Louisiana’s Bousillage Tradition: Investigation of Past Techniques for Future Practice, addresses the Colonial building technique of bousillage, (wood frame construction with naturally dried tempered clay infill), which was used in Creole and Arcadian Louisiana during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Based on the European tradition but adapted to the New World climate, bousillage is a multi-cultural building tradition that has remarkably scant published documentation. Blokker and Knight propose to produce a report that will combine materials analysis with oral history, field studies, trials and mock-ups. They plan to present their findings at conferences next year and aim to eventually publish a full primer as a sequel publication. The Board was impressed by their dedication to documenting a formerly important traditional building method that is slowly disappearing.

For a complete list of Fitch Foundation grantees since 1990, please consult:

http://www.fitchfoundation.org/Recipients_Prior_Recipients.php

For 2010 Fitch Foundation grant deadlines and requirements, please consult:

http://www.fitchfoundation.org/Grants_Qualifications_Fitch.php

The James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation, founded in 1988, was established to recognize the unique                     contribution of Dr Fitch to the field of historic preservation in the United States and elsewhere. The purpose of the                foundation is to advance the study and practice of historic preservation by supporting related endeavors through a                 research grant program as well as publications, seminars and lectures.                                                                                                Please visit us at http://www.fitchfoundation.org