SPRING GREEN, Wis. – Taliesin Preservation is offering a series of four lectures, in collaboration with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, to continue exploring Frank Lloyd Wright’s ideas in the 21st century. Frank Lloyd Wright practiced architecture during a time of tremendous change in American society: the industrial revolution, urbanization, global economic expansion, scientific and technological advancement, and a host of social and political shifts that accompanied modernization. Wright believed that architecture could improve people’s lives, and he dedicated his practice to designing buildings, cities, and landscapes that responded to the cultural shifts redefining American life.
Over his prolific career that spanned more than seven decades, Frank Lloyd Wright:
- designed systems of affordable housing so that everyday Americans could live in beautiful and functional homes;
- reimagined the workplace, bringing light and openness to the modern office;
- proposed new kinds of cities and urban designs that would alleviate congestion and pollution; and
- engaged the landscape in ways that integrated architecture and nature into an organic whole.
AMERICA 250 LECTURE SERIES AT TALIESIN’S HILLSIDE THEATER
From August – October, Taliesin Preservation will offer four public lectures by nationally recognized scholars. This series will examine some of the American people, places, and ideas that shaped Wright’s architectural practice and consider his ongoing relevance in the 21st century.
The speaker series will take place at Hillside Theater at Taliesin, an intimate performance space originally used by Wright and his community of apprentices for film screenings, concerts, recitals, plays, and dances. Topics and information are outlined below:
- SAT., AUG. 8 | 5:30pm | Frank Lloyd Wright and Ralph Waldo Emerson: Reclaiming the Promise of the American Project | Ayad Rahmani, Washington State University | In the mid-19th century, America was losing ground, both socially and politically. How to get the country back on track was the concern of many leading cultural figures, including Wright. This presentation will examine how Wright looked to the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson to restore Americans’ capacity for insight and innovation.
- SAT., AUG. 15 | 5:30pm | Broadacre City: Wright’s Vision for the American City | Jennifer Gray, Taliesin Institute and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation | In 1932, Wright unveiled an ambitious project called Broadacre City, which proposed radical changes to cities and how we live in them. This lecture will unpack the ways that Broadacre City, though never built, was a vehicle to address pressing social, economic, and environmental issues.
- FRI., SEPT. 11 | 5:30pm | Frank Lloyd Wright in the 21st Century | Anna Andrzejewski, University of Wisconsin-Madison | This presentation will examine how Wright’s Wisconsin roots shaped his work and why his ideas about nature, technology, and community remain relevant in the modern age.
- SAT., OCT. 3 | 5:30pm | “I Turned to This Hill”: Wright and the Driftless Area Landscape | Curt Meine, Aldo Leopold Foundation/Center for Humans and Nature | This lecture will explore the relationship between the Driftless Area landscape of southwest Wisconsin and Wright’s architectural vision, and what lessons that relationship holds for contemporary community resilience and environmental stewardship.
Lectures are in-person only and $15 for adults | $10 for students. For more information and to reserve tickets, please visit: taliesinpreservation.org/hillside-theater
