2019/2020 Fitch Fellowship

In spring 2019, I (Molly Lester) was awarded a mid-career fellowship by the James Marston Fitch Foundation for a project called "Preserving What Is Missing: In Conversation about the Architecture of Minerva Parker Nichols." Focusing on the portfolio of Minerva Parker Nichols, this project examines the histories we don’t preserve, testing new methodologies to identify, evaluate, and commemorate a body of work that defies traditional preservation frameworks. As 8+ years of research and documentation have proven, her career presents an opportunity to prototype new ways to talk about non-traditional narratives and sustain unconventional historic places. This fellowship resulted in a limited-series podcast and companion video shorts.