World Monuments Fund Names Chinati Foundation to 2014 Watch List

The Chinati Foundation is proud to announce that it has been selected for inclusion on the 2014 WORLD MONUMENTS WATCH list.

World Monuments Fund is the leading independent organization devoted to saving the world’s treasured places. For nearly fifty years, in one hundred countries, the World Monuments Fund has worked to preserve the world’s architectural and cultural heritage represented by great buildings and sites that define a particular period of artistic expression or that symbolize a cultural era.  For a complete list of Watch sites since 1996, click here.

The 2014 Watch features sixty-seven sites in forty-one countries and territories on five continents. The Chinati Foundation is one of only six sites chosen in the United States.

The 2014 WATCH press release, issued by World Monuments Fund on October 8, 2013, states: “A recurring theme of the Watch has been the need to recognize the importance and special issues of the architecture of the recent past. The American sites on the 2014 Watch fall into this category, including sculptor Donald Judd’s buildings at The Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas; Frank Lloyd Wright’s home, Taliesin, in Spring Green, Wisconsin; woodworker George Nakashima’s house and workshop, in New Hope, Pennsylvania; Eero Saarinen’s St. Louis Arch, in Missouri; and the Cloisters and Palisades, New York. Saving modern heritage sites begins with recognition of their significance, and also requires an innovative approach to conservation work, dealing with materials that were unconventional and innovative themselves at the time of the buildings’ construction.”

The Chinati Foundation was highlighted during a recent PBS NewsHour segment with World Monuments Fund President Bonnie Burnham and NewsHour correspondent Jeffrey Brown.  The second clip features discussion about Chinati’s inclusion on the 2014 Watch.

The international attention provided by this designation will help Chinati expand awareness of the museum that Donald Judd established in Marfa, Texas.  It provides a vital tool to galvanize support from a variety of sources, including national and regional governments, foundations, corporate sponsors, and private donors.  We look forward to updating you as we work in concert with the World Monuments Fund to preserve The Chinati Foundation for future generations.