Gretel Enck, President of the Blackwell School Alliance discusses the organization's mission and the building's Historic Structure Report. The research for the report is currently being conducted by Bill Dupont, the director of the Center for Cultural Sustainability at UTSA, and a team of twelve graduate students from the UTSA School of Architecture. Graduate students Isabel Howard, Gustavo Ochoa, and Davis Eubanks also join in on the conversation about the work being carried out by the visiting team this week.
Enck says the historic structure report is a vital component for restoration and preservation of the building, explaining, "It sets us up for the long term goal of restoring the building, both in a way that is compliant with historic preservation standards and in the way that gets us to our goal of creating a modern professional museum and community center in this space."
The Blackwell School Alliance will host a community conversation on Thursday, July 20th at 6 pm. Dupont says that it is important for community members who are not alumni to also express their opinions in order for the team to gain a wider perspective of the Blackwell School's importance. He says, "I think it's very important the connection to the larger community is part of the community conversation that we want to have on Thursday. This particular building isn't just about the Mexican-American alumni of this school, but it's about all of Marfa and about everyone in this region of Texas."
You can find out more about this event and the Blackwell School Alliance here.
