Travel Reflections: Mexico Tour
MULTIPLICITY -74- FIELDWORK
by Sanika Kulkarni [HP]
During my second semester of graduate studies in Historic Preservation at Pratt Institute, Lisa Ackerman, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of World Monuments Fund, had arranged for a meeting of various professionals involved in the field of preservation in New York City and students who were taking her class. During the meeting, Liz Waytkuz, Executive Director of DOCOMOMO US mentioned about the travel fellowship to Mexico City. I have always enjoyed travelling and experiencing spaces. Hence I submitted my application which consisted of an essay stating why I need the travel grant, essay on my goals as a preservation professional and a letter of recommendation along with some other documents. Three weeks after the applications were closed, I was informed that I was one of the travel grant fellows. This travel grant was an opportunity to see and interact with various preservation professionals from all over the US and Mexico. Many of the fellow travellers briefly knew about Indian architects Charles Correa and B.V.Doshi (Pritzker Prize Awardee 2018) and were curious to know about modern architecture in India. This is what helped me focus on the two architects I studied for my graduate thesis. Travelling and experiencing spaces definitely helps in better understanding and appreciation of architecture. Being selected as a DOCOMOMO US- Mexico Study Grant, I consider myself very fortunate as it helped me develop an appreciation for the preservation of Modern Architecture which wasn’t something I would have prioritized earlier. It was fascinating to see most of the participants of this tour Modernism in Mexico City were architecture enthusiasts,which was a surprise as not only architects and historians, like I always assumed were involved in preservation efforts.
A group of locals dressed as the Aztecs performing various dances in the historic core of Mexico City. Photo: Sanika Kulkarni.
