Site Selection Background

Once the artists for the project were selected, they were asked to choose a site on which to focus their work. The artists were provided a list of twenty-three UNESCO World Heritage sites from which they were each asked to chose three. Using the artists’ lists as a guideline, project staff then drafted the site assignments, taking into account a variety of factors, including the geographic range of the locations and the nature of each artist’s previous work.

In the summer of 2004, the artists and museum staff attended a meeting during which Rare staff and other conservation experts provided an introduction to the project sites and their related issues. Prior to traveling, the artists were briefed on everything from travel logistics to the complex socioeconomic, political, and environmental forces at work at their respective sites. Once at the sites, the artists met with a range of individuals and extensively explored the area in preparation for developing their project proposals. One to two years after the initial site visits, each artist returned for a second, longer, residency during which they began working on their projects, often in collaboration with locals living at the sites.