Historic Interiors Affiliate Group (HIG) of the Society of Architectural Historians
Fall 2022 Newsletter and Calendar
October 7, 2022
Now in its third year as an organization, HIG continues to build community and promote the advancement of the study of historic interiors, both within existing SAH membership and beyond. HIG’s president, secretary and executive board work to accomplish this goal through event programming, research projects, collaboration with other organizations, and the endorsement of sessions and activities at the annual SAH meeting. Last year the Emerging Scholars Committee hosted a second symposium, this year through SAH Connects. Their work has become a foundation of our group, bringing participants from around the world together in a forum for innovative new work in the field.
As of early September, our membership rolls numbered 310. As we look ahead to next year our goals are to provide more programs, better communications to our members, and increase involvement in our working committees. The Pedagogy Committee, the Events and Conferences Committee, the Research Committee, and the Emerging Scholars Committee all have events on the books for the fall, and several things are already planned for the spring.
NEWS
This summer Anca Lasc completed a two-year term as founding HIG Secretary. As co-founder of our organization, her energy, creativity, dedication, and wise leadership guided us as we developed from an informal group to an active community. We thank her, and look forward to working with her in her new capacity as a member of the Advisory Board.
Karen White, a leader of the Pedagogy Committee, has taken on the role of secretary and has already made a significant contribution by organizing meetings and events, recording minutes, and initiating a new shared Google calendar to facilitate scheduling and communications within the leadership, the membership, and the public.
In late April, HIG Advisory Board Member Fredie Flore, presented a short Powerpoint presentation about our organization to a conference of a group of Dutch and Belgian scholars at the Studiedag Historisch Interieur en Design in Ghent, Belgium. It what we hope will only be the first of many “introductions” to other groups to foster collaboration in the future. Fredie has graciously shared her presentation with us for others to use. Consider your own schedule of conferences this 2022-2023 and how you might be able to share information about the organization, activities, and low cost of affiliate membership in SAH.
Communications: HIG is working to provide more consistent communications with members and the public, with a new process and policy developed by Jennifer Komar Olivarez. Keep an eye on our WordPress site and SAH Commons Group Site. Blog posts, event announcements, calendar items, member profiles and more are on the way.
Zoom Planning and Accessibility: One of the most pressing issues in the last year is accessibility to an organization Zoom account and calendar. Although it was great to host an SAH Connects event, it was difficult to plan ahead and plan other events based on individual members’ Zoom accounts. With a recommendation from Events and Conferences Committee member Tim Rohan, HIG proposed that SAH provide access to a dedicated professional Zoom account. Thanks to Eliana Abu Hamdi, Helena Dean, and the SAH Board, we now have that access as will all of the SAH Affiliate Groups.
SAH Awards Policy: Responding, in part, to HIG’s proposal for an SAH/HIG Article Prize in Historic Interiors, the SAH Board is now developing a formal proposal process and review of its existing awards program. Paula Lupkin was asked to serve on an ad-hoc committee to make recommendations to the Board. The work has taken longer than expected, but we remain hopeful that SAH will recognize scholarship in the history of interiors in the near future.
CALENDAR OF PAST EVENTS: Spring 2022
- March 28: HIG Online Book Event: New Approaches to Interiors. The authors of two new books discussed methods and approaches to race, gender, sexuality and politics in the history of the interior.
- Kristina Wilson, Mid-Century Modernism and the America Body: Race, Gender, and the Politics of Power in Design (Princeton U. Press, 2021)
- Stephen Vider, The Queerness of Home: Gender, Sexuality, and the Politics of Domesticity after World War II (U. of Chicago Press, 2021)
- April 27-April 30: SAH 2022 Annual Meeting Pittsburgh.
- HIG Guide to 2022 SAH Meeting
- HIG-organized Session: Electric Interiors from the Nineteenth Century Until Today, Tim Rohan, chair
- HIG Happy Hour at Westin Pittsburgh Lobby Bar
- June 10 and June 17: SAH Connects Symposium: Digital Interiors, Second Annual Historic Interiors Emerging Scholars Symposium organized by Laura Jenkins, Lauren Drapala, Michelle Jackson-Bennett, and Vanessa Vanden Berghe.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Fall 2022
- October 21: Research Workshop and Advisory Committee Meeting
- 10am CT: Research Committee: Architecture, Interiors, and the Expanded Field Workshop: Paula Lupkin and Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler. For a copy of the paper and Zoom link contact Karen White: whitestudio@rogers.com
- 12pm CT: HIG Advisory Committee Meeting: for agenda and Zoom link contact Karen White: whitestudio@rogers.com
- November 4: Emerging Scholars Publishing Event and HIG General Business Meeting
- 10-11am CT: HIG General Business Meeting and Member Profiles
- 11-12:30 CT: “From Dissertation to Book: Publishing Academic Research in the History of Interiors” Emerging Scholars Publishing Event, moderated by Michelle Jackson-Bennett and featuring discussants:
- Freya Hartzell (Editor, West 86th; new book with MIT Press)
- Alice Tseng (Associate Editor, JSAH)
- James Thompson (Publisher in Architecture, Art, and Visual Culture, Bloomsbury Publishing).
- December 2: HIG Pedagogy Workshop, 11am CT
- December 2: Call for Session Proposals, SAH 2024, Albuquerque New Mexico. HIG’s Events and Conferences Committee opens our annual call for session proposals for the 2024 SAH: in person in Albuquerque and virtual.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Spring 2023
- January 5: HIG-Sponsored Session Proposals, SAH 2024, Albuquerque New Mexico DUE
- April 12-16: Society of Architectural Historians Annual Meeting, SAH 2023, Montreal
- HIG-endorsed Paper Session: “Material Religion Through the Sacred Interior,” chaired by Tania Kolarik, University of Wisconsin, Madison
- June 9: Emerging Scholars symposium. Organized by HIG’s Emerging Scholars Committee, this will be HIG’s Third Annual Emerging Scholars Event.