As cultural venues and museums remain closed, one initiative launched in early April brings Frank Lloyd Wright’s most prominent projects to the public via virtual tours. Shared under the hashtag #WrightVirtualVisits, the series now features twenty-four sites, and more are expected to join as the project unfolds. With new videos published every Thursday until July 15, the project compiles an insightful glimpse into Wright’s extensive body of work.
The project requires each participating organization to feature a short video tour of a different Wright house on their associated social media pages. The goal behind this swap is to promote the sites to new audiences since every location has its own following. The tours, often given by the curator of each estate, are highly diverse, providing in-depth details about the history, architecture and design motifs of the buildings, exploring the context and Wright’s attitude towards the landscape, or delighting the viewers with a behind-the-scenes look at the projects’ less-known aspects.
Wright Virtual Visits was initiated by the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, together with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and Unity Temple Restoration Foundation. The organizers hope the tours will inspire future visits and also prompt individuals to donate to these estates, which have faced considerable budget shortfalls due to the pandemic. Among the architectural sites taking part and featured in this project are the Unity Temple in Oak Park, Emil Bach House, Malcolm Willey House, the Hollyhock House, Taliesin West and Fallingwater.
You can follow the hashtag #WrightVirtualVisits, or check out the estates on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. The complete list of participating sites is available here. If keeping up with so many media pages seems too much of a hassle, every Friday the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy rounds up all the media posted under #WrightVirtualVisits the day before. Visit their website for the latest round-up.
