November 14 and 15, 2024
The Westin Portland Harborview, Portland, Maine, and Livestream
DAY ONE:
8:00 a.m. Summit check-in opens at The Westin
8:00 a.m. Breakfast at The Westin
9:00 a.m. Opening Welcome
9:20 a.m. Welcome Remarks
President | Maine College of Art and Design
9:30 a.m. Telling Histories: The Power of Preservation as a Strategy for Civic Engagement
Opening Keynote
Emma Bloomberg Professor in Residence of Urban Planning and Design | Harvard Graduate School of Design
9:55 a.m. Taking the Long View: The Political Landscape and Preservation
Featured Speaker
President & Chief Executive Officer | New Hampshire Public Radio
10:15 a.m. The Changing Philanthropic Landscape
Opening Conversation
How is cultural philanthropy responding to changing donor priorities and empowering organizations to provide inclusive access to cultural places and experiences for diverse audiences and communities? Philanthropic leaders discuss their work to challenge traditional models of giving.
Johanna Chao Kreilick (moderator)
Former CEO | Union of Concerned Scientists
Principal | KDN Philanthropy Consulting
Program Officer, Racial Equity & Community Engagement | W.K. Kellogg Foundation
11:00 a.m. Morning Break
11:20 a.m. Music and Health: Innovation at the Intersection of Music, Technology, and the Mind
Featured Presentation
Muriel R. Cooper Professor of Music and Media | MIT Media Lab
11:35 a.m. Culture as Prescription
Panel
Art and cultural organizations can provide critical wellness benefits, at a time when many communities are grappling with an increase in loneliness and mental health challenges. Learn from leading thinkers across disciplines as they discuss the exciting potential of social prescribing.
Michael Bobbitt (moderator)
Executive Director | Mass Cultural Council
Assistant Professor | University of Toronto
Associate Director, Vocal Faculty | Community Music School of Springfield
Program Director/Art Therapist/Founder | ArtVan
12:35 p.m. Lunch Break
1:35 p.m. Stopping Stones: Healing through Remembering
Keynote Conversation
Recognizing the past is critical in effecting change in the present. Hear from the Founder of Stopping Stones, an initiative that utilizes public art to memorialize individuals who experienced enslavement and promote racial healing
President and CEO | Historic New England
Founder | Stopping Stones/Engagement Arts Fund
2:05 p.m. Future Storytelling: Art, Technology, and Heritage in the Digital Age
Special Talk
Cofounder and Director | MYStudio
Cofounder and Director | MYStudio
2:20 p.m. Shaping Tomorrow: Empowering Stories, Connecting Community
Featured Speaker
President & CEO, Museum of African American History | Boston & Nantucket
2:35 p.m. Reimagining Museums
Conversation
Museums are employing a range of creative strategies to critically reexamine and address the balance of their collections towards better reflecting their community and complex histories. From community partnerships and artist-in-residence programs to thoughtful deaccessioning and acquisitions, hear from museum professionals about how they are striving to create inclusive, collaborative, and community-focused collections and exhibits.
Frank Mitchell(moderator)
Curator at Large | The Amistad Center for Art & Culture Curatorial Adviser | Toni N. & Wendell C. Harp Historical Museum
William E. Cook Vice President, American Institute for Maritime Studies | Mystic Seaport Museum
Deputy Director | Abbe Museum
3:20 Afternoon Break
3:40 Inclusive Education: in the Classroom and Beyond
Panel
Hear from experts across schools, non-profits, and cultural institutions about how they are working towards accessibility and representation for all young people.
Benjamin Herold (moderator)
Writer
Panawahpskek Citizen
Director of Education | Brooklyn Museum
Executive Director | Partners for Youth with Disabilities
4:40 Bridge to the Arts: Connecting Communities Through Cultural Spaces
Marquee Conversation
A leading example of the power of preservation, art, and culture, Dartmouth’s rejuvenated and expanded Hopkins Center for the Arts (The Hop) is a keystone of the campus Arts District and a bridge linking inspiring performance, a world-class academic institution, and the surrounding community. Learn how institutional vision and outstanding design are converging to reimagine The Hop as a center of creativity and connection.
Howard Gilman ’44 Executive Director | Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College
Director, Architecture | Snøhetta
5:10 Closing Remarks
5:15 Networking Reception + Awards Reception
Join fellow attendees, speakers, and award recipients at a celebratory cocktail hour, featuring live music by the Shank Painters.
Historic New England Book Prize
The Historic New England Book Prize is awarded annually to a book that advances the understanding of life in New England from the past to today by examining its architecture, landscape, and material culture.
Prize for Collecting Works on Paper
The Prize for Collecting Works on Paper honors those who have assembled or helped save significant collections related to New England and its diverse communities or to the nation as a whole.
DAY TWO:
8:00 a.m. Summit check-in opens at The Westin
8:00 a.m. Affinity Networking Breakfast at The Westin (Longfellow Room) Sponsored by Morgan Stanley – The Centre Harbour Group
At breakfast on Friday morning, we are offering a Special Affinity Breakfast opportunity for folks who wish to join us. Engage in peer-to-peer discussions centered on the key themes of the Summit, including Climate Action, Preservation Trades, Culture and Wellbeing, Museums, and Education. Share your ongoing projects and collaborate, regardless of whether you operate in a small team of two or a larger group of 200.
9:00 a.m. Opening Welcome
9:15 a.m. Context of the 2024 Summit
Opening Keynote
President and CEO | Historic New England
9:40 a.m. Climate Migration: The Next Great Cultural Shift
Panel
How can advance planning allow communities to effectively welcome new populations, while maintaining and enhancing their community’s vitality? How can knowledge gained from historic migrations shape how we prepare for the future?
Melissa Hoffer (moderator)
Climate Chief | State of Massachusetts
Sustainability Coordinator | Historic New England
North Regional Director | NOAA Office for Coastal Management
Director | Mangone Climate Change Hub
10:40 a.m. Morning Break
11:00 a.m. Growing Together: Building Opportunity, Creating Homes
Featured Speaker
Affordable housing challenges impact development in communities of all kinds. How do planning strategies facilitate housing production, while preserving the unique character and sense of place of the communities they support?
Adjunct Professor, City Planning-Urban Affairs Program | Boston University
11:20 a.m. Factory Reborn: Reviving Industrial Roots in Haverhill and America
Conversation
Announcements on the most recent chapter of Historic New England’s ambitious initiative to transform two historic shoe factories in Haverhill, Massachusetts, into a global cultural destination and vibrant mixed-use district, breathing new life into the city’s industrial heritage. In parallel, the session spotlights Maine-based American Roots’ efforts to revive U.S. manufacturing as a cultural and economic backbone, bringing past to present to strengthen communities across the region and the nation.
Vin Cipolla
President and CEO | Historic New England
Carissa Demore
Team Leader for Preservation Services | Historic New England
Michelle Finamore, PhD
Fashion and Design Historian and Curator
Ben Waxman
Co-owner | American Roots
Co-owner | American Roots
12:10 p.m. Collections Stewardship Award
12:20 p.m. Lunch Break
1:20 p.m. A House Restored
Featured Speaker
Author and Architectural Conservator
1:40 p.m. Restoring the Future of Toxic Land
Panel
How can spaces polluted due to past practice be given new life? Hear from the organizations working to redefine the future of toxic land.
Amy Fisher (moderator)
Consultant | Zero Energy Homes
David Foss, CPG, LSP
Statewide Brownfields Coordinator | MassDEP
State Director | USDA Rural Development Maine
State/Tribal Funding, Historic Preservation | EPA
2:40 p.m. Sheltered Shores: Acadia’s Housing Horizon
Conversation
With affordable housing in short supply, how can parks ensure that they offer a livable place for their workers? Acadia National Park serves as a case study with broad implications for considerations in workforce housing.
Superintendent | Acadia National Park
President & CEO | Friends of Acadia
3:10 p.m. Bright Ideas: Preserving Maine’s Historic Lighthouses in a Changing Climate
Special Talk
Lighthouses, by virtue of their remoteness and exposure to the ocean, are at the frontlines of historic structures impacted by climate change. Learn about work being done to sustain these structures in a gulf warming faster than nearly all the world’s oceans.
President | The Presumpscot Foundation
3:25 p.m. Closing Awards
Historic New England Cultural Catalyst Award
The Historic New England Cultural Catalyst Award honors an organization that reflects our values of inclusion, innovation, and commitment to cultural heritage. The 2024 Cultural Catalyst Award will be awarded to Portland, Maine-based Atlantic Black Box for providing our communities with tools to research and reckon with New England’s role in colonization and enslavement. Atlantic Black Box founder Meadow Dibble, PhD, will accept the Cultural Catalyst Award on behalf of the organization.
Historic New England Preservation Leadership Award
The Historic New England Preservation Leadership Award honors an individual or institution whose indelible contribution to the preservation movement has had a transformational impact on the New England region. The 2024 Historic New England Preservation Leadership Award will be awarded to Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr. for his lifelong dedication to promoting and protecting Maine’s history and architecture.
3:55 p.m. Closing Remarks
*End of 2024 Historic New England Summit*
*Timing and program content subject to change.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16:
A WEEKEND IN MAINE: LOCAL TOURS AND REGIONAL EVENTS
We hope you will stay after the Summit, and experience all that Portland and Maine have to offer!
Portland Tours:
Several local Portland organizations are offering special tours for Summit attendees on Saturday, November 16th.
9:00-11:00 a.m. Victoria Mansion (Open for Tours)
109 Danforth Street, Portland, ME
History. Exploration. Wonder. To people who are curious about art and history, Victoria Mansion is a triumph of 19th-century architecture and design with a wealth of stories to tell. Surviving intact with over 90% of its original 1860 interiors, Victoria Mansion’s mission is to conserve, maintain, and restore our National Historic Landmark property to the highest standards and to interpret the house in its social and historical context to a broad local, state, and national audience.
10:00 a.m. Mechanics Hall
519 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
Mechanics’ Hall is a historic landmark in the heart of Portland, Maine’s Arts District, and is home to the 8th oldest member-supported library in the United States. Completed in 1859 by the Maine Charitable Mechanic Association, it was built to support Maine’s creative community: blacksmiths, coopers, artists, innovators, and creators. Today, the organization honors its rich history through literary arts programs, music, performances, and more while working to preserve this vital cultural resource.
The Hall’s upper clerestory served as a mustering station for Union soldiers during the Civil War, and remnants of Enfield tracks remain at the top of the staircase, entering what was once a dining hall. In 2022, the National Park Service recognized Mechanics’ Hall as a Nationally Significant building on the National Register of Historic Places owing to this history and the overall cultural influence the organization has had on American history.
In 2024, Mechanics’ Hall received a congressionally-directed spending grant of $2.86 million to begin significant exterior restoration work, which will lay the groundwork for essential interior renovations. Register Here
11:00 a.m. Wadsworth-Longfellow House (Maine Historical Society)
489 Congress Street, Portland, ME
Stepping into the house gives visitors a personal view of the original family’s furnishings, portraits, and household goods. Eight pages of handwritten instructions by the poet’s sister Anne ensure that the house is a virtual time capsule, creating an inviting atmosphere that is historically accurate. Register Here
1:00 and 1:30 p.m. Portland Observatory (Greater Portland Landmarks)
138 Congress Street, Portland, ME
The Portland Observatory (1807)
Breathtaking views and fascinating history at America’s last standing maritime signal tower. Guided tours stop on six floors to tell the history of this remarkable building and the man who built it. The Observatory was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, became a National Historic Landmark in 2006, and named a National Civil Engineering Landmark in 2006.
Guided tours will be offered at 1:00 pm and 1:30 pm on a first come, first served basis with a limit of 10 people per tour.
2:00, 2:15, and 2:30 p.m. Eastern Cemetery
224 Congress Street, Portland, ME
One of Yankee Magazine’s top five cemetery tours in New England! Walk Portland’s Old Burying Ground with a trained guide. Hallowed? Not officially. Historic? Absolutely. Haunted? You decide. Visit the cemetery’s unique field of underground tombs, the oldest gravemarker from 1717, the final resting place of the famed Captains of the 1813 battle between the Boxer and the Enterprise, and the interesting carvings of Portland’s first stone-cutter, Bartlett Adams. Tours include early gravestone art, important local historic figures, Portland’s historic events, and the landscape of this National Historic Landmark, including segregated sections for Black people, Catholics, Quakers, and strangers. Wear comfortable walking shoes, as the ground is uneven once we leave the main pathway. These tours are led by trained volunteers who cover the cemetery’s history, prominent historical figures, and early gravestone art.
Around Maine:
WHERE:YORK
On Saturday, November 16, WHERE will be in York, Maine for The Descendants’ Walk, a program devoted to expanding public memory literacy and building the collective muscles needed to face difficult historical legacies, offered by York History Partners in collaboration with Atlantic Black Box. Learn more and register https://www.walkwhere.org/walks/york
