Frederick Law Olmsted is commonly known as the father of landscape design. The Forum will survey his life and lasting legacy, providing the opportunity to learn about Olmsted from a historical perspective and how and why parks are so important today. The Forum occurs over two days - Tuesday September 14 and Wednesday September 15. 

A public moderated discussion will take place on Wednesday September 15 in the afternoon at UVA School of Architecture, Campbell Hall 153.

The moderated discussion titled "Olmsted in the Field: Landscape Travels and Design Practices. Landscape Aesthetics, Nature, Nation, Race and Public Health" includes the following speakers and is moderated by Elizabeth K. Meyer, Professor of Landscape Architecture. This Forum will examine the influence of Olmsted’s travels and related landscape experiences on his conceptions of nature, national identity, race relations and public health crises. The lectures and moderated discussion aspire to expand our appreciation of the connections between Olmsted’s varied endeavors—a farmer, a traveler, a journalist, a public health administrator, a park superintendent and a landscape designer—and their impact on his assumptions about race, space, urban life, and democracy.

2.30pm. Welcome and introductory comments

Kim Cory, Albermarle Garden Club

Professor Elizabeth K. Meyer, UVA Center for Cultural Landscapes

3.00pm. Moderated discussion and Q+A

With speakers:

John Dean Davis -"Olmsted in the South, Olmsted at War, 1850s - 60s"

Environmental and Architectural Historian

Assistant Professor, Ohio State University Knowlton School

Sara Cedar Miller - "Central Park Before Olmsted"

Landscape Historian

Historian Emerita, Central Park Conservancy

Sara Rademacher - "Overture to Frederick Law Olmsted's Life and Legacy"

President, ForeGround

Sara Zewde - "Re-tracing Olmsted's Travels through Cotton Kingdom" 

Founding Principal, Studio Zewde

Associate Professor of Practice, Harvard Graduate School of Design

4.30pm. Local race, space and landscape case study

Albemarle Garden Club at Booker T. Washington Park, Charlottesville

5.00pm. Concluding remarks and post-event reception

This event is hosted by the Albemarle Garden Club, and supported by the UVA School of Architecture Center for Cultural Landscapes and the National Association of Olmsted Parks. All attendees must follow the UVA masking policy.