Athens, Ga. – The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia received the Excellence in Preservation Service award from The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation for the museum’s Henry D. Green Center for the Study of the Decorative Arts and Symposium.
The Green Center was recognized for promoting the preservation and study of material culture in Georgia and the South since its establishment in 2000. The award was presented at the trust’s 39th annual preservation awards ceremony in Marietta last week.
Named in honor of Henry D. Green, the foremost scholar of Georgia’s early regional styles, the center is a resource for object-based learning in the humanities and has become a national leader in research. The trust also recognized Athenian Bonnie Ramsey as the driving force behind the decorative arts program and the formation of the Green Center. The center organizes the biennial Henry D. Green Symposium of the Decorative Arts, which has become one of the largest events of its kind, hosting presentations by numerous scholars from Georgia and beyond.
For more than 35 years, the trust has recognized preservation projects and individuals in the state who have made significant contributions to the field of historic preservation. Awards are presented on the basis of the contributions of the person or project to the community and/or state and on compliance to the U.S. secretary of the interior’s Standards for Preservation.
Awards in the Excellence in Preservation Service category recognize persons, groups, businesses or government entities demonstrating exemplary activities and promoting awareness in the field of historic preservation. The scope of work may be of local, regional or statewide significance. This year the trust presented two Excellence in Preservation Service awards. The second went to James K. Reap, a leading preservation advocate, author and historic preservation professor at UGA.
Founded in 1973, The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation is one of the country’s leading statewide, nonprofit preservation organizations. The trust works for the preservation and revitalization of Georgia’s diverse historic resources and advocates their appreciation, protection and use.
The Georgia Trust generates community revitalization by finding buyers for endangered properties acquired by its revolving fund and raises awareness of other endangered historic resources through an annual listing of Georgia’s “Places in Peril.” The trust recognizes preservation projects and individuals with its annual Preservation Awards and awards students and young professionals with academic scholarships, the Neel Reid Prize and Liz Lyon Fellowship. The trust offers a variety of educational programs for adults and children, provides technical assistance to property owners and historic communities, advocates for funding, tax incentives and other laws aiding preservation efforts, and manages two house museums in Atlanta (Rhodes Hall) and Macon (Hay House).
To learn more about The Georgia Trust and the Preservation Awards, visit www.georgiatrust.org.
Museum Information
Partial support for the exhibition and programs at the Georgia Museum of Art is provided by the Georgia Council for the Arts through appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. The council is a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Individuals, foundations and corporations provide additional museum support through their gifts to the University of Georgia Foundation. The Georgia Museum of Art is located in the Performing and Visual Arts Complex on UGA’s East Campus. The address is 90 Carlton St., Athens, Ga., 30602-1502. For more information, including hours, see georgiamuseum.org or call 706-542-4662.
