Cultural symposium in Bishop Hill to explore sustainability and preservation issues

Weekend event to feature presenters from Sweden

[October 08, 2009]  BISHOP HILL -- A unique symposium in the historic Illinois community of Bishop Hill this weekend will explore issues of sustainability, preservation, landscape, agriculture and development. Experts in these fields from Sweden and the United States will help participants identify tools and techniques to help sustain their historic communities in today's economy.

"The Challenge of Change in Living Cultural Communities" will be presented Oct. 9-11 in the Henry County community of Bishop Hill, colonized in 1846. Bishop Hill is a National Historic Landmark boasting 14 original colony structures, a significant folk art collection, museums, shops, restaurants and period craftsmen.

The idea for the symposium began with a recent visit by Swedish Cultural Counselor Mats Widbom to Bishop Hill. At that time the tiny historic community was facing closure of its state-operated historic sites, reduced revenues and fewer grant sources. Widbom was struck by Bishop Hill's similarity to several cultural communities in Sweden that have obtained sustainability. With Widbom's suggestion and the support of the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C., plus a grant from the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the symposium was created.

Speakers include Widbom, of the Swedish Embassy; Göran Gudmundsson, of the Gysinge Center for Building Preservation, Gysinge, Sweden; Larry E. Lund, principal in the Real Estate Planning Group, Chicago, a successful planner with 35 years of experience in planning and marketing who has explored the issues of sustainability at a recent symposium in New Harmony, Ind.; Ruth Eckdish Knack, AICP, executive editor of Planning magazine, a monthly publication of the American Planning Association; Walker C. Johnson, FAIA, principal of Johnson-Lasky Architects, Chicago, who has over 40 years of historic preservation experience; Mike Jackson, chief architect for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency; Kenneth Schuette, professor of historic preservation and architecture at Purdue University; Carol J.H. Yetken, founder and principal of CYLA Design Associates Inc. of Oak Park, a historic landscape preservation specialist; and Dr. Wesley Jarrell, professor of sustainable agriculture and natural resources and interim director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The symposium is sponsored by the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the Swedish Consulate of Chicago. Assistance is being provided by the Bishop Hill Heritage Association, Bishop Hill State Historic Site, Bishop Hill Arts Council, Bishop Hill Old Settlers' Association, Black Hawk East Community College, Swedish American Museum and Henry County Tourism Bureau.

For a full listing of the symposium schedule, registration form and other information, visit www.bishophillilsymposium.com or call 309-927-3899 or 309-927-3345.

[Text from file received from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]