Welcome Aboard, Hew Evans
Today Hew Evans (pronouns: they / them) joins Village Preservation as our Administrative and Programs Assistant. Hew has been interning for us since May of this year, during which time they’ve helped to plan and promote our immensely successful Village Voices benefit and public exhibition. Additionally, Hew has performed research for our South of Union Square landmarking initiative, assisted with our adult educational programming, and actively participated in our campaign in opposition to the City’s SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown upzoning plan.
As our administrator, Hew will continue these responsibilities and assist with membership, fundraising, database management, and programming activities, while also contributing to our blog Off the Grid and undertaking special archival, administrative, and educational projects.
Born and raised in the American South, Hew has always been interested in the region’s historically underrepresented narratives as well as utilizing preservation as a tool for social justice. While studying historic preservation at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Hew worked tirelessly to document historical sites and artifacts related to Slavery and the African Diaspora. They collaborated with SCAD and the St. Simon’s Island African American Coalition to nominate the Historic Harrington Schoolhouse, a Rosenwald-era school, to the National Register for Historic Places. Additionally, Hew cataloged the Davenport House’s Museum archeological artifacts to formally acknowledge the site’s role in urban slavery. Summarizing their experiences, Hew’s undergraduate capstone focused on how climate change and sea-level rise inflict disastrous and irreversible damage to coastal communities of color.
Hew is continuing their advocacy here in New York City, where their work has explored how cultural heritage institutions can create inclusive communal space for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ individuals. Previous to their work at VP, Hew acted as a Grants Assistant for the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, helping to perpetuate their legacy for preserving Queer art and promoting intersectional dialogue. Hew is looking forward to applying their experience to our efforts at Village Preservation, and is eager to explore our neighborhoods’ role as a cradle of modern socio-political movements.
Hew received their B.F.A. in Historic Preservation in 2020 from the Savannah College of Art and Design, where they received the Dennis and Elaine Swartz Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation. They are currently completing their M.A. in Museum Studies at New York University and will formally graduate this coming May.
You can reach Hew at hew@villagepreservation.org.