TALIESIN FELLOWS
an independent organization inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright.
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The Taliesin Fellows
Building designed by Arthur Dyson – previous dean of Alumni of the School of Architecture at Taliesin (SoAT) and apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright
The Taliesin Fellows is a national group. We are an all-volunteer association dedicated to the promotion of the ideals and principles of Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic architecture, and to improving the quality of the built environment. Our members include licensed architects, students, emerging professionals and other supporters of the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Taliesin Fellows further the ideals of Mr. Wright’s organic architecture both as an independent organization & as part of the greater community inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Taliesin Fellows, the alumni organization of the School of Architecture at Taliesin was formally initiated in 1932 when twenty-three apprentices came to live and learn at Taliesin. The sources of this educational philosophy have roots that go back much further than the 1930s. The program of the School, while remaining remarkably true to its heritage, has evolved through experience and the need to address changing times.
In 1931, Frank and Olgivanna Lloyd Wright circulated a prospectus to an international group of distinguished scholars, artists, and friends, announcing their plan to form a school at Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin to “Learn by Doing.”
Frank Lloyd Wright School with apprentices
Winter home of Frank Lloyd Wright (Taliesin West)
“The fine arts, so called,” they asserted, “should stand at the center as inspiration grouped about architecture . . . . (of which landscape and the decorative arts would be a division).” Education would emphasize painting, sculpture, music, drama, and dance “in their places as divisions of architecture.”
Each of these elements of the fine arts, as the Wrights conceived them, would lead to broader learning: “Drama would be studied as the essential structure of all great literature;” while “Music would mean the fundamental study of sound and rhythm as an emotional reaction both as to original character and present nature.”
They anticipated a core faculty, “resident foremen,” at the school supplemented by “a guest-system of visitation, consultation and criticism” and faculty from the “nearest university” who would make philosophy and psychology and other disciplines available “by extension work.” The “Wisconsin Idea” at the University of Wisconsin conceived of the entire State as a classroom, and the Wrights with close friends at the University proposed to make full use of it.
The students, or “apprentices,” would round out their education in the spirit of Tolstoy’s “What to Do.”
“The entire work of feeding and caring for the student body so far as possible should be done by itself . . . work in the gardens, fields, animal husbandry, laundry, cooking, cleaning, serving should rotate among the students according to some plan that would make them all do their bit with each kind of work at some time.”
Taliesin – Home of Frank Lloyd Wright in Spring Green, Wisconsin
Living room at Taliesin West
The ambitious plan for an endowed school exceeded the Wright’s capacity to attract funds in the second full year of the Great Depression. So the next year, 1932, they issued a more modest circular announcing the formation of the Taliesin Fellowship and inviting young people to venture to Taliesin (now School of Architecture at Taliesin). The Fellowship would organize around the principles they had articulated in 1931.
But the sources of these ideas go back much further than the early 1930s. They rested on the Wrights’ own experience.
The Taliesin Fellows further the ideals and principles of Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic architecture as an independent organization inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright.
As an independent organization, The Fellows are an active organization whose membership includes those who have been educated at School of Architecture at Taliesin, practicing architects, and individuals with an interest in organic architecture. We utilize our members’ knowledge and passion for the built environment to raise monetary capital for projects that endeavor to solve societal design issues from single sites to constructing and reconstructing communities:
- Support and solutions for disaster relief housing and community re-development
- Exhibitions that promote Organic Architecture
- Design Competitions that foster intelligent design solutions to architectural challenge facing our society.
As a part of the greater community inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, The Taliesin Fellows:
- Serving as a medium of exchange among Taliesin Apprentices from 1932 to the present;
- Providing a sounding board for Frank Lloyd Wright building owners, academia, and the general public, to the extent appropriate to each;
- Publishing The Journal of the Taliesin Fellows, newsletter, and other informational pieces that further and promote the education and awareness of Organic Architecture.
- Presenting educational programs and events
- Documenting the work and contribution of those apprentices who studied under Wright and all subsequent students of architecture that lived, worked, and studied at the School of Architecture at Taliesin.
- Fund Raising for student Scholarships, Endowed Chair Scholarship, and student construction projects promoting advancements in sustainable building technologies.
OUR PROGRAMS
The Taliesin Fellows
Membership 
Emerging Fellows 
Living Legacy of Fellowship 
Workdays and Preservation 
Reunions & MeetingMembership
(Database, Mailing Lists and Dues)
We are pleased to welcome you to establish your membership to, or to renew your membership in our vibrant and expanding association of Taliesin Fellows, the Alumni of the School of Architecture at Taliesin, previously known as the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture from 1932-2017.
Our organization has built a robust extension of the Organic Architecture community that serves as an inclusive medium of exchange for alumni spanning eight decades. Taliesin Fellows Inc. supports the important legacy and ongoing vigor of the School of Architecture at Taliesin, nurtures the professional development of its current and former students and apprentices, and sponsors scholarships and programs that further the ideals of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Organic Architecture.
We need and desire your ideas, energy, and enthusiasm. We hope that you will find added value to your past Taliesin experiences as an ongoing supporter of Taliesin Fellows and friend of the Taliesin Fellowship. Thank you very much, and we look forward to your contributions — in whatever manner you choose to share them!
Become a Fellows member or Friend of the Fellows member, or renew your membership now.
CORE MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
– A print subscription to the meticulously crafted Journal of the Taliesin Fellows, published three times per year and mailed to your door;
– A listing in the Taliesin Fellows Directory that keeps you connected to the diverse architectural community;
– Invitations to all Taliesin Fellows reunions, including Fellows Weekend
– Open invitation to participate in open-session meetings of the Board of Directors of the Taliesin Fellows three times per year — and to consider a leadership role;
– Opportunity to define and participate in supporting a broad range of Fellows organizational, architectural and educational projects and initiatives, including scholarships for students
– Taliesin Fellows, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and your membership contribution is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Emerging Fellows
(Current student support network and Mentorship / Internship Opportunities)
Living Legacy of Fellowship
Workdays and Preservation
(Taliesin and Taliesin West)
Reunions & Meeting
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
The Board of Directors of the Taliesin Fellows consists of Fellows members and Friends of the Fellows members. Board members are dedicated to implementing the mission of the association and to stewarding its bylaws; are committed to attending the three Fellows Weekend meetings each year, which alternate between Taliesin and Taliesin West; have sought nomination and been confirmed by the Board; and have registered their membership in the Taliesin Fellows at the Leader level or higher.
These individuals represent many ages and a variety of skill sets, and for the duration of their term they work in collaboration with the board and its special committees to define and manage our programs of today — as well as to generate vision for the future.
If you would like more information on leadership opportunities with the Taliesin Fellows, please verify that you have registered or renewed your membership this year and contact us with a letter of interest. Thank you for your support!
Fellowship Programs, Events, & Activities
The Taliesin Fellows
New Programs We Want To Build:
In-House Community/Foundation Relations
- Increase communications (Online Communications Bulletin board)
- An official -Taliesin Fellows Professional Mentorship Program for students
- Scholarships and Awards for students
- Dedicated On Campus Historic Preservation and Work Days (beyond tri-annual meeting dates) (Tanyderi is an example)
- Professional Directory of Fellows
- New Fellows Projects including Emerging and Young Fellows Projects (Current Student and new Fellows Work Publications)
Public Community Outreach
- Design Competitions
- Develop a disaster relief support system of (Haiti or Gulf or New York) (Fellows without Borders)
- Organic Architecture Conferences
Mike Rust and John Rattenbury reviewing drawings in 2014
Office Hours
Monday To Friday 8:00 a.m – 5:00 p.m
Saturday – 10:00 a.m – 4:00 p.m
Sunday – CLOSED
TALIESIN FELLOWS
Taliesin Fellows, Inc.
P.O. Box 5603
Scottsdale, Arizona 85261
Phone
(480) 219-0554
E-Mail
info@taliesinfellows.org