TCLF Hits a Home Run in Boston

The Landscape Architecture Legacy of Dan Kiley opening reception, photo © Sam Rosenholtz

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) annual meeting is always an exciting time, and this year it was especially event-filled. Moreover, thanks to the generous support of sponsors and participants, TCLF programs including the Pioneers of American Landscape Design® project received much needed support.

Laurie Olin, copyright OLIN, by Sahar Coston HardyTCLF kicked off these festivities with the launch of the 10th Pioneers oral history – this one with Laurie Olin, one of the field’s leading practitioners, which seemed a fitting preface to the week. It was followed two days later with all things Dan Kiley – first, From Manna to Modernism, a sold-out, daylong excursion to bucolic Westport, MA, that began with our motor coach greeters from Maglin, who good cheer and great coffee. The group was whisked off to the Maryann Thompson-designed home of landscape architect Doug Reed and Will Makris.  Several of the participants cited the influence of the great Modernist landscape architect Dan Kiley on their career and design philosophy, and there were even several former Kiley colleagues among the attendees who regaled the crowd with entertaining and inspirational tales about working with him. The tour continued on to the Westport Rivers Vineyard & Winery, followed by a dockside lunch created by James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Schlesinger for a “thinking coastal & eating local” luncheon. The lunch at The Back Eddy was done in concert with the restaurant’s chef Aaron Derego, for whom food is at the intersection of farming, fishing and traditional New England culture.

(upper) Manna to Modernism  tour; (lower) The Landscape Architecture Legacy of
Dan Kiley opening reception, photo copyright Sam RosenholtzThe day concluded at the Boston Architectural College (BAC) for the opening of The Landscape Architecture Legacy of Dan Kiley, a new traveling, photographic exhibition about Kiley’s life and career organized by TCLF.  The exhibition was made possible by Presenting Sponsors The Davey Expert Tree Company and Victor Stanley, Inc.; Exhibitions Partners the Boston Society of Landscape Architects and the Boston Architectural College; Media Partner Landscape Architecture magazine; Educational Partner the American Society of Landscape Architects; and the Hubbard Educational Foundation.

The overflow crowd included four of Kiley’s eight children, former colleagues (some of whom had not seen each other in years) and many others, and there was much praise for the BAC’s beautiful installation of the exhibition. The retrospective, which features 45 newly commissioned photographs of 27 Kiley-designed public and private projects, continues at the BAC through December 2013, then goes on to the National Building Museum in Washington, DC (February 8 – May 18, 2014), and other venues to be announced. TCLF was grateful to Hartney Greymont, who underwrote the reception, and more than 100 supporters who generously donated more than $120,000 to this undertaking.

2013 Silent AuctionOn Saturday and Sunday, TCLF’s annual Silent Auction drew active and aggressive bidding for works by more than sixty artists and practitioners. TCLF is extremely grateful for the generous support of all our auction donors, and in particular our Presenting Sponsors Deeproot and Polycor, and Educational Partner, the American Society of Landscape Architects. The outpouring of support over the course of these four days for the exhibit and its associated opening, excursion and auction helped raise more than $220,000 which goes directly to support TCLF’s educational initiatives and promote the foundation’s mission of stewardship through education.