Following tradition at VAF, the 2019 awardees were announced with much fanfare.  Each awardee was recognized for their contributions to VAF and to the field of vernacular architecture studies.  Please click on the links below to read the full inspiring stories and view the evocative images of each awardee.

Advocacy Award: In 2019 VAF honored Dick Pencek, emeritus teaching scholar at Pennsylvania State University

Award for Local Advocacy: In 2019 VAF created a new award to recognize a local organization in the place of the annual meeting and Hidden City, Philadelphia was the first recipient.

Catherine W. Bishir Prize: This year there were two winners of the 2019 Bisher Prize. 

Maire O’Neill Conrad, Professor of Architecture and Design at Montana State University was honored for her work on the development of farm buildings in the Northern Rockies is solidly grounded on extensive field recording, "Light on the Land: Construction revolution in farm buildings of the Northern Rockies (1890 - 1910)". Buildings & Landscapes: v. 24 i. 2 p. 58-84. 

Gabrielle Berlinger, Assistant Professor of American Studies and Folklore at University of North Carolina was honored for her study of the Jewish sukkot--a temporary ritual enclosure built for the Jewish holiday commemorating the Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land, “From Ritual to Protest: Sukkot in the Garden of Hope.” Buildings & Landscapes: v. 24 i. 1 p. 1-25.

Paul E. Buchanan Award: The winner of the 2019 Paul E. Buchanan Award is the Montana African American Heritage Resources Project, for the model public outreach using interactive web-based digital media to bring together resources and people.

Abbott Lowell Cummings: The 2019 Cummings Prize was given to Christian Tagsold for his book Spaces in Translation: Japanese Gardens in the West.

Henry Glassie Award: This year's recipient for special contributions to the field is Dr. Richard Longstreth.