Week 3. 19 October: Victoria Ocampo and her Sibling Gardens: Testimonials of 20th Century Culture (Beccar and Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina) with Sonia Berjman
Victoria Ocampo (1890-1979) was an outstanding patron of the arts, cultural manager, writer, editor, feminist avant la lettre, but also a garden lover. Her family belonged to the most traditional Argentinean upper social class and, during the 1930s, she inherited two properties located in the Buenos Aires Province: both had splendid gardens designed by her father. She maintained and renewed them for the rest of her life. These gardens welcomed the most prestigious writers, musicians, philosophers, intellectuals and cultural characters from all over the world and hosted their talks, ideas and projects. Victoria donated both properties – including the gardens, of course - to UNESCO; today one of them belongs to the Mar del Plata City Government. Both are historical landmarks.
Sonia Berjman is an Argentinian urban and landscape historian, now residing in Uruguay. She holds two PhDs (from the Universidad de Buenos Aires and Université de la Sorbonne), is a former researcher at the Argentina National Council of Research and at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, and a former graduate professor at several Argentinean universities. She has a long-standing relationship with Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collections (part of Harvard University). Among her numerous writings, she has published more than twenty books. Sonia is also a member of editorial boards for journals in Argentina, Colombia and Brazil and is an Honorary Member of the ICOMOS-IFLA Cultural Landscapes Scientific International Committee.
Image: Villa Ocampo from the upper terrace © Jorge Bayá Casal
www.soniaberjman.com
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