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Since the late 1970s, the preservation of folk architecture and art environments has been a major thrust of the Kohler Foundation, Inc. After a site has been either acquired by or gifted to the Foundation, local and expert partners selected by the Foundation employ museum-quality conservation techniques to preserve the site. The site is then gifted to a county, town, or museum for the education and enjoyment of the public. The Kohler Foundation works with the recipient and local community to ensure the future success of the project.
The Foundation prides itself on its commitment to detail, its willingness to commit the time and resources required to preserve for the ages. The Foundation also knows how to formulate strategies and assemble resources quickly, if necessary. In some instances, precious sites have been saved just in front of the wrecking crew or the ravages of time.
The work of self-taught artists can be found in both very personal or very public spaces -- a home, a yard, a building, a hillside. Some build chapels and grottos, others create murals that encase entire buildings or hundreds of sculptures to populate a landscape.
To visit one
of these sites is to experience the boundless soul of the artist.
©2002
Kohler Foundation, Inc.
