ICADS NEWS

August 2024

In This Issue

 

ICADS Welcomes 2 New Members

 

Member Profile: Art Deco Mumbai Trust

 

Preservation Updates

 

The ICADS Global Events Calendar

 

Brief World Congress Update

 

 

ICADS WELCOMES 2 NEW MEMBERS: TOULOUSE & PHOENIX

ICADS is pleased to announce two new member societies. In April the ICADS Board officially approved Toulouse Art Deco in France and the Phoenix Art Deco Society in Arizona, USA. At the May Board meeting a representative from each society provided remarks about their organization. Vice President Philippe Thuron represented Toulouse Art Deco and President Erin Lindsey was the spokesperson for the Phoenix Art Deco Society. While newly formed, both societies have jumped right in planning activities, building membership, and pursuing preservation advocacy in their cities. You can learn more about each of these two organizations by visiting these websites Toulouse and Phoenix. This now brings the count of ICADS member societies to 28! All societies, including links to their web pages, are included on the ICADS website Members Page. We are also in the process of adding a list of Friends organizations, so please check the website member page in the future to learn more about them as well.

 

ICADS MEMBER PROFILE:

ART DECO MUMBAI TRUST

In this issue of the Newsletter, we are starting what we hope to be a recurring series in which we take a closer look at one of our member societies. Kicking it off is a profile of Art Deco Mumbai (ADMT).

 

Mumbai has one of the largest collections of Art Deco buildings in the world, an aspect of the city’s architecture that had never been explored or acknowledged, until ADMT conducted an unparalleled documentation and outreach initiative. Founded in 2016, ADMT is a not-for-profit charitable Trust that empowers residents and stakeholders to appreciate this iconic style and sensitize them to the need for its preservation.

 

The Board of Trustees includes Atul Kumar (Founder), Shirin Bharucha, Prof. Mustansir Dalvi, and Sujata P. Kumar. ADMT also has an Advisory Board comprised of Dr. Jehangir Sorabjee, Renu Basu, and Vikas Dilawari. They collectively bring several decades of experience in the field of education, conservation, civic advocacy, management and architecture. The talented and well qualified full-time ADMT team consists of professionals who work to create a large, and more importantly, meaningful impact. You can read more about the team here.

 

  • ADMT has drawn local citizens into the conversation on Mumbai’s built form, creating passionate engagement among owners and custodians of these Art Deco properties. Since its founding, ADMT has created:

  • A large-scale photo documentation initiative that has identified 1,237 of 2,989 Art Deco buildings, covering 40 neighborhoods.

  • An advisory practice for residents/societies who want to sensitively repair and restore their Art Deco buildings, with several projects successfully completed and several others planned or in progress.

  • A website with a comprehensive repository of knowledge, including original research material and essays, blog conversations, and building inventory.

  • Social media engagement with a younger generation, with over 90% in the 18- to 44-year age group.

  • An active outreach program of public lectures, webinars, exhibitions, walking tours, and engagement with school and college students.

  • Inclusion of Mumbai’s Art Deco neighborhoods as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

The Trust has had consistent press coverage in the last seven years. ADMT has been featured and acknowledged nationally on platforms like Mumbai Mirror, The Times of India, India Today, Doordarshan Sahyadri, and The Indian Express, as well as in prestigious international publications like The New York Times, The Atlantic, Financial Times, Le Monde, Quartz, CityLab by Bloomberg, BBC News, and many more.


In 2023 Founding Trustee Atul Kumar was re-elected to the Board of ICADS, where he chairs the ICADS Preservation Committee. Atul was invited to represent ADMT at the 16th World Congress for Art Deco in Miami Beach, a first for India. 

 

The Trust believes advocating for the conservation of the city’s Art Deco heritage goes beyond just the built form. It is an acknowledgement of the city’s culture, its history, people, places, and most significantly, its ways of living.

ADMT Pictures: (L) A walk for school children along Oval Maidan; (R) Still from a sold-out public lecture at Durbar Hall, Asiatic Society.

 

PRESERVATION UPDATES: ROCHESTER, NY & LOS ANGELES, CA

We are happy to share some recent good news in the preservation of Art Deco buildings in Rochester, NY and Los Angeles, CA.

 

In May the Mountain States Life Building / Yucca Vine Tower in Los Angeles cleared the last hurdles for protection with a City Council vote in favor of designating the building as a Cultural Landmark. The 8-story building was constructed in 1929 and designed by Henry L. Gogerty. The exterior features slip-form concrete and expressive cast stone bas relief ornamentation. The building was one of Hollywood's earliest skyscrapers and contributed to the emerging Hollywood and Vine commercial district. Today it houses a performing arts school. The landmark application was prepared and submitted by the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles. Visit this page on the ADSLA website to learn more about the building.

 

Also in May, the Times Square Building in Rochester, NY was unanimously approved for addition to the National Register of Historic Places from both the city Preservation Board and Planning Commission. Opened in late 1930, the 14-story building designed by Ralph Walker of Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker was originally the home of Genesee Valley Union Trust. It features a stunning lobby and ornamental exterior tower top adorned with a sculpture known as "Wings of Progress". It is the tallest building in downtown Rochester, and a dramatic feature on the city's skyline. Local advocate Richard Calabrese contacted the ICADS Preservation Committee, requesting testimony in support of this effort, which was favorably acknowledged by city officials. The Board and Commission's efforts also mean the building's lobby is now protected.

Mountain States Life Insurance Building, c. 1930. Courtesy CA State Library.

Times Square Building in Rochester today. Photo by Frank Pruzenski / Don Wenzel / Lucia Falsetti Guarino, courtesy TimesSquareBuilding.com.

THE ICADS GLOBAL EVENTS CALENDAR

Please don't forget about the Global Events Calendar on the ICADS website. It is a great resource for boosting participation in your society’s virtual events and alerting travelers to your city's in-person activities as well. Submitting an entry is easy, with clear step-by-step instructions provided on the website. The Calendar Committee will review and approve events and post them to the calendar within a few days. To learn more, use this link to access the Global Events Calendar Page on the ICADS website.

 

The calendar will only be useful if our member societies participate and share their events. Please make submission to the calendar part of your regular event promotion routine. Most importantly, please share the calendar with your members.

 

WORLD CONGRESS UPDATE

The next World Congress on Art Deco will be held in Paris in Autumn 2025, with the Pre- and Post-Congress tours to Reims and Brussels. Details about these events, their precise dates, and important information, including hotel accommodations and meals, are being finalized. Dates should be confirmed by mid-September, and we will provide another update at that time.

 

ICADS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President

Roberta Nusim

Art Deco Society of New York

 

Vice-President

Robin Grow

Art Deco and Modernism Society of Australia

 

Secretary

Steve Knight

Art Deco Society of Washington

 

Treasurer

Rita Shiang

Art Deco Society of Virginia

Board Members

 

Atul Kumar

Art Deco Mumbai Trust

 

Pascal Laurent

Paris Art Deco Society

 

Margot Gerber

Art Deco Society of Los Angeles

 

Fabio Grementieri

Modernidad Rioplatense

 

 

 

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