Statewide Historic Preservation Conference 2024

Download the official conference program.

September 18-20, 2024 | Columbus, GA

We are excited to announce the 2024 Statewide Historic Preservation Conference, hosted by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs Historic Preservation Division and the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, will be held in Columbus, Georgia on September 18-20, 2024. 

Stay up to date by signing up for HPD emails and following us on Instagram and facebook. And keep an eye on this space for more information as it is announced!

Keynote Speaker Announced

We are excited to welcome Brent Leggs as the 2024 Statewide Historic Preservation Conference Keynote Speaker. 

Brent Leggs is the executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and senior vice president of the National Trust. Envisioned as a social movement for justice, equity, and reconciliation, the Action Fund is promoting the role of cultural preservation in telling the nation’s full history, while also empowering activists, entrepreneurs, artists, and civic leaders to advocate on behalf of African American historic places.

A Harvard University Loeb Fellow and author of Preserving African American Historic Places, which is considered the “seminal publication on preserving African American historic sites” by the Smithsonian Institution, Brent is a national leader in the U.S. preservation movement and the 2018 recipient of the Robert G. Stanton National Preservation Award. His passion for elevating the significance of black culture in American history is visible through his work, which elevates the remarkable stories and places that evoke centuries of black activism, achievement, and community.

Over the past decade, he has developed the Northeast African American Historic Places Outreach Program, and its theme, the Business of Preservation, to build a regional movement of preservation leaders saving important landmarks in African American history. As the project manager for several National Treasure campaigns across the country, he led efforts to create the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument in Alabama, which President Barack Obama designated in January 2017. Other campaign successes include the perpetual protection of cultural monuments like Villa Lewaro, the estate of Madam C. J. Walker in Irvington, New York; Joe Frazier’s Gym in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey; A. G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham; Nina Simone’s birthplace in Tryon, North Carolina; John and Alice Coltrane’s home in Huntington, New York; and more.

Brent has taught at Harvard University, Boston Architectural College and the University of Maryland. He is a Senior Advisor and Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Preservation of Civil Rights Sites (CPCRS) and is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s graduate program in Historic Preservation.

New This Year: Conference Sponsorships

We are opening sponsorship opportunities! Various levels of sponsorship are available to organizations, companies, and individuals looking to support the 2024 Statewide Historic Preservation Conference. 

To inquire about sponsorships, contact Brynn Chanudet, Senior Director of Development with the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, [email protected]

Sponsorship Flyer

Registration

Registration is now open on the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation's Website! During registration, you can also sign up for tours and new workshops, and rsvp for receptions.

Click here to register

Tours and Workshops

Tours this year include the Gertrude “Ma” Rainy House and Blue Museum; Carson McCullers Center for Writers and Artists; St. James AME Church; a bike tour of Uptown Columbus; and a cemetery workshop at Pierce Chapel African Cemetery. We are also excited to announce workshops led by HPD staff focusing on the National Register program, Environmental Review process, and Tax Incentives. Sign up for these options when you register. Tour capacity is limited.  More information on the tours and workshops can be found here.

Hotel Block Information

Room blocks have been arranged at the following hotels. Please use the booking information in the document below (click to open) to secure your room for the conference. Availability is limited. If you run into difficulties with booking the rooms, please let us know.

Conference events will be held in several locations. Most speaker sessions will be held at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center, 801 Front Ave, Columbus, GA 31901.

Poster Session

Call for Posters

The Georgia Statewide Historic Preservation Conference will host a poster session at the 2024 annual conference to showcase recently completed research and works-in-progress. Topics should focus on issues impacting historic preservation, public history, or related fields within Georgia. The call is open to students and recent graduates (no more than 5 years out).

Proposals should include a title, abstract (no more than 300 words), and a one-page resume or CV. If you have any questions about the poster session, please contact committee chair Chad Keller [email protected].

Poster presenters will need to register for the conference, but admission will be complimentary. The Georgia Statewide Historic Preservation Conference is scheduled to be held September 18-20, 2024, in Columbus, GA. The conference brings together preservationists, non-profits, planners, architects, historians, architectural historians, archaeologists, city and county administrators, historic preservation commission members and students from across Georgia.

Abstract Criteria

Abstracts should include a brief introduction to the project that includes the objective or research question, as well as the methods used. Results and conclusions are not required in the submission but should be included in the final poster. The description must be substantial enough to let the review committee know what the project is about, as well as the expected contribution or value. 

Submissions will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Clarity – The objectives of the research presented are clearly described.
• Significance – The objectives of the research make a professional or academic contribution to the field
• Methods – The methods used (including the design, implementation, and analysis) are appropriate to achieving the objectives of the research.
• Presentation – The abstract is logical, interesting, clearly written, and free of grammatical or typographical errors.

THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL IS June 21

The proposal should be emailed as a PDF attachment to Chad Keller [email protected]. All proposals received will be acknowledged.  If you do not receive an acknowledgement of receipt of your proposal within one week of its submission, please contact Chad Keller.

We are happy to announce that the Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network and Georgia Alliance of Planning Commissions are returning as sponsors for the conference. And we are delighted to welcome Historic Columbus Foundation as a Local Planning Partner.