The Historic Interiors Group welcomes incoming Co-Presidents Anca I. Lasc and Patricia Lara-Betancourt.
For the coming 2023-2025 term, Anca Lasc and Patricia Lara-Betancourt have proposed a Co-Presidency.
Both Anca Lasc and Patricia Lara-Betancourt are historians of the interior, with a focus on the nineteenth century. However, their research areas complement one another geographically. While Anca’s work mostly focuses on Euro-American interiors, Patricia’s looks at their Latin American counterparts. Anca was the Co-Founder of HIG with Paula Lupkin and Mark Hinchman and she served as the organization’s Founding Secretary in its first two years of existence within SAH. She thus possesses unique insights into HIG’s operational structures having worked alongside Paula in establishing the committees that now constitute HIG. Patricia joined the organization’s Advisory Committee in 2021, its first year of existence. She has contributed thoughtful advice and has enabled international connections beyond HIG’s (and SAH’s) primarily North American constituency. Patricia is currently based at Kingston University in the UK, where she is also a member of the Modern Interiors Research Centre (MIRC). Anca is a member of the History of Art and Design Department at Pratt Institute in New York. Anca and Patricia’s research and teaching interests, as well as their ongoing dedication to HIG, position them well to serve as the organization’s Co-Presidents.
Anca and Patricia have claimed it as their mission to continue HIG’s valuable work for the study of Historic Interiors, globally. Quoting from their initial pledge to work in tandem as Co-Presidents of HIG, their promise is “to continue the Inaugural President’s work along the three main lines of interiors scholarship already defined within the organization’s bylaws: research for (and on behalf of) HIG, pedagogy, and conferences/events to further popularize the work of scholars working within the field of interiors.” Their dedication as authors and scholars, as well as their links with publishing and museums, additionally supports HIG’s mission.
This Co-Presidency was ratified by unanimous vote during the recent HIG General Meeting on Friday, April 15th. Welcome Anca and Patricia!