Mario Testino, one of the world’s most well-known and influential photographers and a native of Lima, Peru, has been named President of the Board of World Monuments Fund Peru, the organization’s first office in South America, by Bonnie Burnham, President of World Monuments Fund (WMF).

Mr. Testino, whose work has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world, has long been recognized as a major force in arts and culture.

In remarks given at the announcement, held on April 11 at MATE – Museo Mario Testino, the cultural institution in Lima dedicated to the exhibition of Mr. Testino’s and other artists’ work, WMF President Bonnie Burnham stated, “As a native of Lima, a city known worldwide for the richness of its cultural heritage, Mario Testino is the ideal person to lead the new WMF Peru. Formally creating an affiliate in Lima demonstrates the World Monuments Fund’s commitment to the heritage of Peru as well as the whole of South America.”

In addition to field projects, the World Monuments Watch advocacy program has provided opportunities to review the threats to the protection of more than 30 cultural heritage sites in Peru. WMF created strategies to assist in raising public awareness about these sites as well as developed solutions to sustain and protect the monuments. From America’s Route 66 to the temples of Angkor, Cambodia, WMF not only preserves the world’s most important monuments, the organization also enhances local economies, creates educational opportunities, reinvigorates local traditions, promotes tourism, and helps communities and entire countries recognize their cultural and architectural treasures while enhancing national pride. World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund is the leading independent organization devoted to saving the world’s most treasured places.

WMF, www.wmf.org