Zabludow Synagogue Project

Background

In October 2003, Rick and Laura Brown represented Handshouse Studio in Bialystok, Poland at "Annihilated Heritage - Zabludow Project International Workshops for the Preservation of Historic Wood Building Tradition." This First International Workshop included individuals as well as representatives of professional organizations and institutions from Poland, the United States, Germany, Canada, Great Britain, Lithuania, Belarus, Israel, and the Czech Republic. Participants learned about the multicultural heritage of the Podlasie region of northeastern Poland, and its numerous wooden landmarks: farm buildings, Catholic and Orthodox churches, and mosques. The workshop program included lectures, presentations of historic carpentry, discussions on the Zabludow Reconstruction Project, and numerous site visits and research on wooden buildings.

The result of the conference/workshop was the adoption of the Bialystok Resolution.

BIALYSTOK RESOLUTION

We participants in the first international workshop for protection of wooden building traditions resolve to develop an international learning network with local and regional partners for the research, documentation, conservation, and restoration of heritage, cultural landscapes, and historic wooden buildings using traditional processes.

We are convinced that reconstruction of the 17th Century wooden synagogue of Zabludow, Poland, destroyed in World War II, is vital for recovery of annihilated elements of European cultural heritage.

In the spirit of the workshop and resolution, Handshouse Studio proposed to contribute to the international learning network by integrating the subject of the Zabludow Synagogue into the classroom at three of the Colleges of the Fenway: Massachusetts College of Art, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and Wheelock College, through connected academic and studio courses, an intensive model making workshop, and a travel program to Poland through Mass College of Art.

Handshouse Studio hosted the Zabludow Model workshop from April 22-26, 2004, which was associated with the classes at Massachusetts College of Art, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and Wheelock College. The Colleges of the Fenway funded the workshop.