[Aztlan] Casa Herrera, Antigua, Guatemala

[Elaine Schele]

Hola Listeros,

On November 13th, the University of Texas Mesoamerica Center, a
division of the Department of Art and Art History will officially open
and inaugurate Casa Herrera in Antigua, Guatemala.  This research
facility will be an international center for research specializing in
the Art and Culture of Mesoamerica

Here is a quote from one of their webpages: "Two blocks from the
central square of Antigua, Guatemala, lies the Casa Herrera, a
property owned by the Fundación Pantaleón. Built in the late 1600s,
the property has a central courtyard and original woodwork, ironwork,
and structures. In 2005, a conversation began between Barbara Arroyo,
a member of the Fundación Pantaleón Board of Directors, and David
Stuart, the Director of the UT Mesoamerica Center. These conversations
led to a dedicated, year-round facility, housed in the Casa Herrera,
run by the UT Mesoamerica Center, that facilitates academic
investigations into the art, culture, and writing of Mesoamerica.

"In January 2007, restoration construction commenced on the Casa
Herrera, sponsored by the Fundación. Scheduled to conclude in 2008,
this facility will provide a major venue for research and teaching on
Pre+Columbian art and archaeology, facilitating dialogue and
cooperation among scholars, faculty and students from diverse
disciplines, numerous institutions, and nations. This center's setting
in Antigua provides an ideal venue in which scholars and students can
pursue, explore, and appreciate both the rich Pre-Columbian heritage
of Guatemala as well as its modern cultural milieu.

"The Casa Herrera will function as a flexible, interdisciplinary site
where scholars can build and host workshops, symposia, meetings,
exhibitions, and lectures. In addition to maintaining a library,
technology lab, and hosting resident national and international
scholars, this vision encompasses the ability to someday facilitate
student-based academic programs. The Casa Herrera will live within the
programmatic scope of the Mesoamerica Center; the mission of the Casa
Herrera will always serve to promote and engage the larger aims of the
Mesoamerica Center at the University of Texas at Austin."

To see images of the building restoration and for the blog page for
the project click here:  http://casaherrera.wordpress.com/images/

Elaine
-- 
http://gispalenque.blogspot.com/
http://volunteermayameetings.blogspot.com/